This Mary Sue's Pretty Scary Too
by Iamwatchingyou
Summary: Mah ne, I'm inserting myself randomly and hoping it works out. I've decided to pinck on the Hyoutei boys for this one. Warning Shounen ai and gayness as in stupid random crack new chapter 7
1. So you're bored

This Mary Sue's Pretty Scary Too

By Tantou Rei

As you can probably tell, I had a few hours to kill last night. review or flame or don't. This isn't serious anyway.

Disclaimer: I own no one in Prince of Tennis...But Tsukino is mine

Chapter 1: A New Extent of Boredom

There once was a very bored fanfiction writer. She was running out of ideas (well good ones anyway) for all her stories. There was just nothing coming into her empty little head as she stared blankly at the computer screen. Finally, she had had enough.

"Oh screw you!" she punched her laptop indignantly (but then realized that it was her only laptop so began apologizing profusely.) "Man if I could meet the characters in person. That'd be so cool, I'll probbly be able to write for weeks."

Then she looked sadly at the pathetic half-written chapter of the story about her newst obsession (Prince of Tennis). Too bad the fabric of reality was separating her from her inspiration.

It was then that whoever it was that heaven assigned to weave the fabric of reality flt sorry for the poor girl. She had seen what fans would do for what they want, and mutilating literature on the computer was definitely not the worst thing in the world. In an attempt to help a still semi-sane fangirl keep her literacy, the weaver let a small hole slip into her work. It was through this that she reached out to the child and pulled.

The bewildered writer suddenly found herself surrounded by nothing but white.until a strange woman in a purple robe appeared out of nowhere.

"Welcome my child, to the beyond." She smiled

"Wait, beyond?" The idiot was now hopelessly confused. "Beyond what? And who are you?"

"My name is Taira, I am the weaver of reality." She gestured to the whiteness, "And this is what lies beyond reality."

"So, there's nothing beyond reality."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Okay, so why am I here?"

"Well, I heard you complaining and decided to help."

"Help? You can drop me off into an anime?" The weaver's eyes widened slightly. People from that particular universe were boring, and definitely can't make their eyes grow that big. "SUGEEEEEE!! MAJI MAJI? HONTOU NI? GAAAAAAH SUTEKI!!"

"..."

"..." the girl was still running around, her delirious joy had yet to deplete.

"But there are rules." Taira warned after the unnatural happiness had worn off. "I must make you...a Mary Sue."

"GASP!" once again she was treated to the sight of impossibly large eyes and half the girl's jaw laying on the ground. However, this time, she could not blame her companion. To have to be a Mary Sue! Oh the horror! One toe out of line and she would be killed by all the flames that were likely to come her way. Any self respecting writer would be mortified.

"Do you still want to proceed?" Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and nodded. After all, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. "Good girl. Now I will send you to the anime of your choice. You only get one so choose carefully."

It was no competition. "Prince of Tennis."

Smiling the weaver waved her hand once and disappeared.

"Alright now." her disembodied voice came from everywhere around the young writer. "You're the writer so you'll have to set up an identity in this world. So name?"

"Tsukino Rei."

"Age? Height? Weight? You're still a girl by the way, we can't change that."

"Damn, it would have been fun being a guy, but 14 turning 15 on the 26 of December, 160cm, and sixty kilos exactly."

"Pretty light for a 14-year-old don't you think? Pretty short too. School and grade?"

"I'll be fine. I'm a freshman at Yukimatsuri High (where all the Hyoutei regulars ended up)."

"History?"

"Born a street rat, I survived on my own until age ten when I was picked up by a nice old man who offered me dango. Turns out he was the owner of a small company an wished to train me as a back-up in case his greedy jerk of a son messed up. I've had some run-ins with Akutsu Jin but we've managed to co-exist without killing one another. I played Momoshiro Takeshi once when I was 12 and lost. I was a pre-regular in my freshman year (the year in cannon), but was never allowed to play any serious games, just the wash-outs at the district tournament and very begining of the prefecture tournament (not against Fudoumine though). I made the regulars in my junior year when Hiyoshi-bucchou and Ohtori-fukubucchou were desperately trying to fill in the gaps left by the 3rd years. I was assigned to doubles for a while so another senpai could keep tabs on me. However, doubles wasn't really my thing and I managed to graduate into singles 3 by the kantou tournament. I met Momoshiro-senpai again on the courts. I had improved somewhat and managed to win 7-6 six due to the tie break which had stretched out 12-10. We made it to the nationals but was eliminated by Fudoumine (I lost my singles match against Ibu Shinji). We landed 4 in the nation because they were beaten by the new Rikkaidai led by Kirihara Akaya. Seigaku's freshman prodigy scored their team another victory though. In my third year, Tori-senpai handed his position down to me. Hiyoshi-senpai named our singles 2 player (another junior) Kuramichi Sai as his sucessor. We fared better that year. Making it to the finals of the nationals, since all but one of the really crazy good players were gone. We managed to pull a win over Seigaku and claim the Nationals. Sai-bucchou actually lost his match to Echizen-san, but I won mine and we managed to pull 2 doubles matches."

"Okay, explanation why you're on the boy's team?"

"Ojii-san needed me to overthrow his son if need be. It would be much easier to do that if I were a boy instead of a girl. It's not like I don't act the part."

"Okay, appearance, eyes?"

"Pale, steely bluish gray."

"Hair?"

"Black with hints of blue. I chop it off in the back since long hair was just an uneeded burden on the streets. I don't need to anymore but old habits die hard."

"Clothes?"

"All shades of blue, black, gray, and white. Sometimes there's a little green. I have a dark purple wristband on my dominant hand (right) and a dark purple leg warmer around my left leg (to hide a scar). The bands stay on even in uniform."

"Good living arrangements?

"A good-sized house in the better part of town. Ojii-san's home a lot, and we have this mutual relationship built on the fact that we're bot idiots who never shut up once you get us started."

"Okay, techniques?"

"Information, is classified."

"So that means..."

"I get back to you when I finally make up some ggood sounding moves."

"Oh whatever, you can add those in yourself later. Alright you're good to go." The new Mary Sue felt herself losing consciousness and the amused laugh of a certain weaver.


	2. Why regulars don't like freshmen

Well here we go. The former Hyotei regulars will now meet Tsukino Rei (my personal caricature). I'm also going to delve a little more deeply on her overall relationship with them. Unfortunately, there's not much tennis in here. Actually, i'm not sure if it really counts as much of a parody anymore.

Oh, and I've fixed up the mistakes I could find. Sorry for havign such bad grammar.

Disclaimer: Anyway, I own Rei, her room, her bike, and her purple hat. That's about it.

Prince of Tennis's newest Mary Sue opened her eyes just as the sun hit her face. The first thing she did of course, was brush her teeth with the nice tasing blue toothpaste from Colgate guarateed to whiten teeth.

Why was this typed into the story?

Well obviously because she didn't want to use bad tasting toothpaste.

When she finally looked at her bedside clock, her steely gray eyes widened.

It was 8:10.

School started at 8:30.

...Oh crap.

She haphazardously threw on the Yukimatsuri Koukou (highschool) uniform (like a blue suit almost. The tie however is red, and there's the standard white collared sshirt), grabbed her bag (thank god it was the first day so there were no textbooks or homework to forget), and ran down the stairs while trying to tie her tie on correctly. Of course, by the time she had snagged a piece of toast, gulped down a glass of milk, and ran to the door, the tie was no longer around her neck, but sutffed in her pocket.

Swiftly, she grabbed her bike (the frame is black steel, beat that!) and pedaled off at an inhuman speed.

--dotted line--

Ohtori Choutarou had been having a good day so far.

He had woken up naturally, had a very good breakfast, and was just in a generally good mood (isn't he always?). It's been a year since he first stepped into high school, and in a way it was almost a relief to fall back into step with the routine he had followed in his second year of Hyoutei (classes, lunch with Shishido-san, classes, tennis practice, walking home with Shishido-san). The only difference really was that Oshitari-senpai was now more focused on his medical studies and so didn't have enough time to juggle the tennis team, his new position on the school newspaper, his advanced classes, and his music. Because of this the doubles 2 team is now permanently Hiyoshi-kun and Mukahi-senpai. Shishido-senpai and he still managed to hold down double's 1 position, though. The three singles players are the same (Jirou-senpai didn't want to go to any other clubs, and Atobe-bucchou wasn't done making people be awed at his tennis prowess yet. Kabaji was pretty much self explanatory). Taki-senpai is still in tennis too. He's a reserve now, because despite his humiliating defeat by Shishido-san, he was still a pretty good player.

But to be truthful Choutarou really missed his old school. Junior year had been the best year of his young life, and though senior year was rather sad because so many of his friends had graduated, it was still an interesting experience being fukubucchou and all. He even had his own personal kouhai. Spending time with the junior too, had been interesting, a small consolation for the absense of his former teamates. Actually, the more he thought about it the more that boy seemed like Shishido-san, Atobe-bucchou and Jirou senpai all meshed into one (this in itself is quite amazing).

Besides, he had a great tennis sense.

Choutarou honestly wondered what his favorite (only) sucessor (to the position of vice-captain) was doing now. Who knows, he might never see the kid again. There were things he still wanted to say and do. The world is such a big place, and Tsuki-kun might not go to...

He was snapped out of his thoughts as a blue and black blur rushed past him stirring up quite the gale. Visibly, Choutarou brightened.

If that was who he thought it was, well, then this year was going to be fun after all.

--dotted line--

Tsukino had just barely managed to slide into her first period English class before the first bell rang (stupid confusing school maps). Quickly,she settled herself in an empty seat next to the window (it was a wonder it was still open), oblivious to the pointing and whispering classmates. Or maybe she was just too tired to care.

One of the girls approached the obviously new kid. "Hey, little guy I think you're in the wrong classroom."

"Really?" he (I will now refer to Tsukino as a boy to prevent confusion) cocked an eyebrow in concentration. "This is Matsumoto-sensei's English class right?"

"Yeah, but you're not supposed to be here right now. You're in second period, right?" She insisted. "And anyway, even if you are in first, you'd be better off not sitting there."

"No my schedule says I'm in first," Tsukino insisted. "And why can't I sit here? There aren't assigned seats are there?"

"You really are clueless aren't you?" The older girl was about to explain when suddenly...

"Would you please move?" The entire room fell silent. At the door was a handsome boy about sixteen years of age with dark gold hair and chocolate borwn eyes that had a hard unfeeling glint to them. Every eye was on him as he made his way to the window seat. His own narrowed as soon as he saw who was in his normal desk. Suddenly there was an almost resigned, maybe slightly tired frown on his face. "What are you doing here, chibisuke? Where's Kuramichi."

Every eye turned to the new freshman.

"Hiyoshi-senpai! Oh, I'm the only one in Yukimatsuri. Sai-Sai went to Yamagawa instead. Mah ne, I didn't know you were here. It's my English class too." The younger boy branished his time table. "Hisashiburi'su ne."

"I meant in my seat." You could almost see the tick mark on his forehead.

"Oh, gomen, demo, I didn't know the seats were assigned." He bowed to Hiyoshi, and the older girl. "Wait, but then where's mine?"

Hiyoshi took a deep breath and began forcing himself to calm down (a trick he had learned last year). While it normally worked, Hiyoshi will admit to this particular brat being a special case. "The seats aren't assigned. However, I'm very fond of that particular seat and have sat there all through my freshman year. Now get out."

Tsukino sat back in, and looked defiantly into Hiyoshi's glare. "Mah ne, but I was here first."

"No technically, I was here before you...by a year." Two could play at this banter game.

"True, but not this morning, and there's nothing specifically marking this desk as your's, senpai." She pointed out. Then she grinned. "Besides, this is my (he struck Hiyoshi's enbu tennis pose) _gekokujou."_

"You little..." But just then the teacher walked in. With a scowl on his face, Hiyoshi was forced to settle into the seat right next to the desk bandit (as that brat will be know from now on).It irked him even more that the little idiot spent all class staring out the window, only to come back just before he was called on.

...No, Hiyoshi refused to admit that he would be very happy indeed to learn such a useful skill.

--dotted line--

Atobe did not want to be at school today.

True it was the first day of his all-important senior year. True, it was a very nice spring day. True, the real work had yet to begun and today had been mostly getting to know classmates and teachers.

All the same, Atobe didn't want to be here.

There was just something that bothered him, just some unconscious dissatisfaction that was nipping at the edge of his consciousness yet refusing to reveal itself.

Deep in thought, he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going.

BAM!! (I'm sure we all know what happened).

Only through his absolutely perfect balance was the multi-billionaire able to prevent himself from falling. The other person was not so lucky. Keigo looked with mild interest at the freshman scramblling to pick up his dropped books on the floor.

The boy was shorter than most, and even Gakuto was at least a half a head taller than him. His slightly too big uniform practically hung off his thin, delicate looking frame, and the boy's over all manner was almost like Jirou's really, whenever Hyoutei's former sleepy head fell (and after he registered what had actually happened). His whole being just oozed and innocent sort of clumsiness. It was almost adorable.

"Kabaji, assist the poor fool so he may move out of Oresama's way."

"Usu." Although the effort had been rather useless as most of the stuff hadbeen picked up by then. However, a plebeian such as he should still appreciate the genrosity of an Atobe. He simply walked on, ignoring the smile, and arigatou'su.

Only a few seconds later did feel a stare on the back of his neck. Whipping his ehad around he managed to catch the last few seconds of the freshman's frown and a soft. "Well that was a bit rude."

That freshman was **_SO_** lucky he only had five minutes to get to his next class.

Dimly, he noted that the kid also had a tear mole, except it was under his left eye. Why was that familiar?

--dotted line--

When it came to lunch, Gakuto was usually first in line, but this time some kid had beaten him to it. Darn it, the cafeteria hadn't even begun selling food yet. He was about to take advantage of his senior status and all, but then hesitated. It was only the first day. He could be a good senpai for once (once?).

Right now he was busy examining the boy's profile.

The first thing that slapped Gakuto in the face, was the boy's incredible likeness to Atobe. His skin was maybe slightly more tanned, but still paler than most of the school population. His cheekbones were relatively high and just slightly more emphasized than the average person. His eyes were a pale steely gray, almost sliver really, but their shape disturbingly similar if a bit larger than his captain's. Now the hair was what really finished the look. No really, the ends looked stylishly chopped of, but it curled and fell and flicked out in all the right places so the shape of his head was exactly like Yukimatsuri's bucchou's. Had the boy dyed his hair to atobe's dark purlish bluish gray color, worn contacts, and somehow magically grew another twenty centimeters, they could have been twins (but what are the chances of that happening?).

"Ne senpai," there was a wary slightly annoyed look in his eyes now that just totally ruined the Atobe effect (as Gakuto has now offcially named it). "Is there something you want with me?"

"Who me?" Gakuto realized that apart from the two or three students who help pass out lunch they were the only ones there. "Oh no, not really. Let me guess, freshman?"

"I'm going to assume that you weren't poking fun at my height." the other boy frowned, but then smiled. "Hai. And you're a senior right?"

"Un, san nen no Mukahi (translation: yeah, 3rd year Mukahi)."

"Ichi nen no Tsukino, dozou yoroshiku (translation:1st year Tsukino. Nice to meet you)." Then he saw the boy's eyes wander to the tennis bag on Gakuto's shoulder. Ne, senpai, you're in the tennis club right? A regular?"

"Yeah...wait how'd you know that."

"Mukahi Gakuto-san. Age:17, 171cm, 66 kilos. Tennis experience: approximately 7 years. Specialty: acrobatics and net play. Not so good in singles but very solid in doubles. Former regular of Hyoutei Gakuen, now attending Yukimatsuri. Did I miss anything?"

Gakuto simply gaped at the other boy's knowing smirk. The Atobe-like thing was back again (and did he mention the pipsqueak as beauitful as their bucchou too? What is it with tennis and freaky pretty people). Darn brat. "When? Where?"

The other boy flipped the cuff of his sleeve inside out and showed Gakuto the little notebook hidden inside and smiled sheepishly (like Jirou when he forgets something). "I ran into someone a couple years back who told me to pay careful attention to the surrounding world and record as much data as I can whenever possible. I ended up being my middle school's spy...and the sleeve of your jersey is sticking out of you bag."

Gakuto decided a nice slap would fo the child some good.

"Ittai. That was not cool senpai."

The red head couldn't restrain himself from smacking his kouhai around the head again. Man, the kid had him scared too, stupid freshman. "Then don't go around doing that kind of stuff, you idiot!! It's creepy. But that aside, are you any good?

"I was a regular back in middle school if that's what your asking." That hadn't really been the answer he was looking for.

"Did your team make it past the fourth round of the Kantou torunament?" Or rather, did they make it to nationals?

"Yeah, it was really hard though." Okay, he could understand that. They hadn't been a beeze for Hyoutei either even when he was still there.

"Then sign up for the tennis club, ya hear!" he demanded in an overexaggerated 'senpai' voice. "I'll be looking for ya in the freshmen rankings after school today! You'd just better be there, short stuff."

"I'd better?" He didn't realize that Gakuto had already stepped in front of him.

"Yeah, or I'll kick your ass personally." The red head grinned as he paid for his stuff and left. Tsukino finally snapped back to the situation at hand.

"Hey wait a minute...MUKAHI-SENPAI!"

--dotted line--

What had started out like a good day for Choutarou had turned a bit sour. Firstly, he didn't like his teachers at all this year. They were all either really mean or really boring if not both. Shishido-san's classes were also on the other side of the school from his so they couldn't even walk to class together. And he had yet to see the familiar smile characteristic of his younger friend. Maybe it was too much to hope for. After all, what are the odds? Oh well, at least there was tennis practice to look forward to.

But when he got to the courts he didn't doubt that today just wasn't his day.

Atobe was annoyed at something. He kept insisting that he wasn't, but the regulars who've known their bucchou for quite sometime now, could automatically tell. Mukahi-senpai was talking to Taki-senpai about this one freaky freshman he met at lunch. Hiyoshi too was on the edge today, and Shishido-san was mumbling something about blasted copycats. The only one who seemed fairly normal at the moment was Jirou-senpai (though that didn't really say much).

Finally, after Atobe ordered them thirty laps each, practice only really got started, to everyone's relief.

For once, practice was let out early, because Gakuto practically begged their bucchou to let him go see the matches between the new freshman.

You see, though Yukimatsuri was alright for athletics, they put a far stronger emphasis on academics. As a result, there were definitely not as many players as in Hyoutei. Actually, there were only just over 60 club members as opposed to the two hundred odd people in Hyoutei. They also have a sort of a ranking system. Whether or not you'll have a chance to be a regular depends mostly on your ranking. Ranking, is earned by these monthly try-out like tournaments between the various students of each year. Choutarou himself had to compete in the junior tournament that had been held yesterday at noon.

Suddenly, a hand on his shoulder nearly made him jump.

"Rough first day huh?" Having his doubles partner beside him eased Choutarou's tension enough to allow for a smile. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's just, I thought today was going to be so great. I mean it started out so good, but then, well..." The frown was back.

"I know, don't you just hate it when that happens? Some times I swear, whoever's up there gets a kick out of seeing us suffer." The silver haired boy nodded in agreement. "Did that one kid ever show up?"

"No." Shishido felt like slapping himself when he heard his precious kouhai's dejected voice. How could he be so tactless? "I wonder which school he's going to now. I hope he does well..."

"You got the kid's e-mail right? Then IM him tonight and ask. Even if you don't go to the same school, it doesn't mean you can't be friends right?" As soon as the smile was back on, the older boy felt it was safe to change the subject. "Come on, I'll show you that one freshman who thinks he can pull off acting like me."

"HAH, I TOLD YOU HE'D BE GOOD! PAY UP TAKI!" Next to the court the freshmen were using stood a very smug Gakuto accepting 5000 yen from his pouting friend. Next to them their old teammate Oshitari Yuushi simply shook his head and pretended not to know the two. Both Hiyoshi and Atobe were standing a couple of feet away, the corner of their eyes twitching sporadically.

"Mukahi-senpai?" Well, that certainly shocked him out of his disappointment. Gakuto was jumping around in a little victory dance.

"Hey did I tell you about that one freshface I met at lunch?"

"You told everyone, you lame-o." Shishido grumbled under his breath. Choutarou was contented for the moment simply bask in this semblance of normality.

"Shut up hat-boy." The red-head stuck his tongue out at the annoyed looking brunette. "Well anyway, he just won the rankings, clear record too, not one loss anywhere, and the kid hasn't even broken a sweat."

"Really? Point."

"Right there, the one with the purple hat on backwards."

"HEY! That's the cocky chibi that copied my catch-phrase! Gekidasa da ze (translation: that's violently uncool)!"

"Oh come off it. It's just a phrase. Besides the kid's good." Taki offered helpfully. Shishido was about retort when they were interrupted.

"Are you telling Oresama that you're actually acquainted with that ungrateful brat?" A scarlet brow met the equally red hairline. "_He's_ the one you were blabbing about at lunch?"

"Yep, that's the Chibi data-man."

"Oresama now places him in your care Mukahi. **Make sure** the brat learns to respect his superiors."

"God Atobe, what'd he do?" Mukahi was suddenly five inches away from Atobe's face (and was promptly shoved back by Kabaji at a snap of Atobe's fingers).

"Oresama had kindly told Kabaji to help the boy pick up his stuff even though it was he who crashed in to oresama in the first place, not the other way around." The diva huffed. "And then he had the audacity to call oresama _**rude**_! Imagine that! Oresama is never _**RUDE**_!"

--dotted line--

Oshitari Yuushi was doing as good a job at ignoring his former comrades as Choutarou was at getting confused from their endless comments and opinions flooding the poor boy all at once.

Actually, it wasn't too hard. The new crop of freshmen really weren't too bad this year. In fact, he had a half a mind to write a small article for them alone. Though most of them were fairly normal (albeit a bit more on the strong side), Yuushi had his eye particularly on the one who had just been ranked as the #1 1st year player, a real diamond amongst the coals. Watching him play had been like watching district games against Hyoutei...complete and utter slaughter. True, he didn't pull out any fancy tricks or playing styles, but there was no doubt in the blunette's mind that he had them. The young boy's brand of tennis was simply too polished for it to be otherwise.

He was midly suprised when the freshman champ headed towards them when he exited the court, though it seems as if he and Hiyoshi were the only ones who even noticed.

"Dou dai (translation: how'd I do)? Hiyoshi-senpai." The cheeky grin, the smug expression, the slightly bored demeanor, the oozing self-satisfaction. Yuushi realized one of his worst nightmares had finally come true...Somebody had found a way to smush Atobe and Shishido into one person.

Hiyoshi's twiching left eye had only decided to take a break about five minutes ago, but now it was hard at work again.

"Ittai!"

"Ohtori!" that was as close to screaming as anyone had ever seen Hiyoshi in public. "I don't care how you do it! JUST TEACH YOUR LITTLE PET KOUHAI SOME GODDAMN MANNERS!"

Amber eyes widened and quickly looked up scanning the crowd around the courts anxiously trying to find his underclassman. While Choutarou was frantically searching, he didn't notice someone comming until somehting crashed into him at about mid-chest to waist level. Almost on instinct he embraced the smaller body back.

After the hug the younger boy stepped away and crossed his arms. "Saa, Tori-senpai, when you said you were going to Yukimatsuri, you never told me I'd need a compass to navigate the hallways. I've been looking for you all day!"

"Me? I was looking in every nook and cranny of this place to see if my Tsuki-kun was here!" He snatched the boy's purple cap and ruffled the raven hair, smiling in satisfaction as those large eyes turned into arches and his sweet little kouhai began laugh along with him. "Hiyoshi, why didn't you tell me?"

"And have you two PDA in public? I don't think so." He scoffed. The other regulars were speechless.

Well actually, Gakuto was trying to swallow his disappointment. For the grand total of two minutes he had had his very own personal kouhai. That wasn't fair damn it. He wanted a little chibi to tag along side him too! Shishido had Choutarou (of course, then again, Choutarou and chibi don't really fit in the same sentence). Atobe had Jirou (he's as old as you are dimwit) and Hiyoshi (who only follows Atobe so he could _gekokujou_ him). How come he was always left out?

Shishido was annoyed at the close proximity between the two boys and their nicknames for each other. Why did Choutarou call that brat by kun, but never even dropped the san on his name? He'd know the silver haired junior longer! But on another note it amused him. Really, Choutarou looked like a kid who had just been given the toy he's been asking for all year (except, well, he's not small).

Atobe and Oshitari were too busy holding the most incredulous espression their faces could possibly make (...not very expressive).

Jirou was sleeping (like duh).

And Kabaji...never talked anyway, so lets move on.

"Hiyoshi-senpai! Gekidasa da ze!" Now it was Shishido's turn to twitch. Choutarou just barely caught this out of the conner of his eye. Of course that didn't stop it from being very funny. The huge grin on his face testified to that.

"Pay more respect to your senpai Chibi-kun." The Enbu tennis player flicked him on the forehead.

"Ittai! How did you become bucchou anyways, you're mean." The boy mumbled under his breath. "Tori-senpai is so much nicer."

"Are you questioning oresama's decision?" There was a dangerous edge to the captain's voice. The kin of edge that promised a torturous number of laps. "And how, pray tell is oresama _**rude**_?!"

"Chigaimasu." Atobe watched as the new kid shook his head and slipped into a cool technical type of tone. "I didn't mean to contradiction you. And as for this morning well, a person is allowed to be slightly put off when someone walks off without reacting when they say thank you. Of course you might not have heard me. I was simply discussing with myself whether or not I should repeat my thanks. I meant that it had been rude of me to crash into you."

"Do you really ?" Atobe raised his eyebrow skeptically, his insight on full blast.

"Well, now that you mention it," the eyes were once again upside down u's. "Not particularly, no. Sumimasen."

"Why you..." For once Atobe was again rendered speechless. Never, ever, had he thought anyone could rival Seigaku's Echizen in insolence, but kami-sama was he ever wrong. Just as he was about to retaliate, a certain blonde interupted.

--dotted line--

Jirou tended to miss quite a lot of things due to his habit of sleeping when any normal person would be awake. In addition to that, the boy was an impulsive person and liable to do the first thing that pops into his head, and normally reacted to the first thing he saw upon waking.

So I'm sure you can imagine what happened when he woke up. Though he was still slightly groggy from sleep and wondering whether or not it was time to go home yet, the first thing he saw was something (or rather someone) cute enough to rival Rikkai's Akaya, Yamabuki's Dan, or even Seigaku's Echizen. Which was how Atobe ended up being nearly bowled over by a blonde torpedo."CHIIIIIIBIIIIII!! SUUUUUUGEEEEEEIIIIII!! HOI HOI ATOBE! WE HAVE OUR OWN CHIBI TOO NOW! **KAAAAAAWAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIII!!**"

He proceeded to crush his little new friend (whom he doesn't know the name of yet) in a bear hug and began horsing around with him, an activity which Gakuto gladly joined in.

And so Atobe was now left with Kabaji watching the three children (for lack of a better term) glomp and jump on each other with an indifferent if slightly tired expressions. Atobe was also slightly annoyed (read angry) at being ignored.

Oshitari was edging away repeating to himself again and again that he did not, in any way, know these people.

Hiyoshi groaned and smacked his head against the nearest convenient hard surface (which happened to be a flagpole).

Taki was clapping excitedly to the three more imature boys' strange beat, and laughing with Shishido who didn't notice because he was leaning on Choutarou from laughing too hard at Atobe.

And Choutarou?

Well, he had a good day after all.

--dotted line--

If you couldn't see the **_BALANTLY OBVIOUS_** Silver Pair implications, the I must say I feel very sorry for you.


	3. Kouhai Magnet Extraordinaire

Mah ne, well, I'm hoping that this chaptaer's a bit more entertainign than my last one.

Disclaimer: same old same old, I don't own anyone or anything inside prince of tennis suttf. But I do own their highschool uniforms.

It's been a week since Tsukino had entered this world and honestly, she'd (I'll only refer to her as she when she's alone and thinking to herself) never been more happy in her entire life. But tonight, she realized something.

She had run into the same problem she did before. the story was growing repetitive, almost stagnant.

Well, it was high time she changed that.

Grabbing her tennis bag she headed out to look for trouble.

--dotted line--

Shishido Ryou was never a particularly envious person. Coming from one of the more middle class families, though he was going to a school full snobs, he never cared about what others had that he didn't. There was simply just too much to bother with.

However there were a few things that he'd prefer not to lose, one of which was Ohtori Choutarou's full attention, something that seems to be a bit lacking lately.

Maybe Gakuto was right...

Oh GOD! **_Gakuto was right_** (inser huge gasp and terrified expression)!

Okay, okay, the red head had _a point_ (that was not the same as being right).

He was rather used to the silver haired boy following him around, maybe a tad too much. It was probably why he found himself slightly put off every time his partner started talking about the freshman. He had to constantly remind himself that Choutarou had a kouhai to take care of now, not of course that, that was a bad thing (although he did grumble a lot to himself anyway, when the other boy wasn't there). It was just...well...

Honestly, that kid was creepy (even more so than Yuushi when he was in one of his scheming moods).

One minute he'd be all cute and lovable like Jirou (if you ever get the idiot to wake up), but in seconds he can put on this look-at-me-I'm-all-that-AND-a-bag-of-chips attitude that rears it big ugly head at completely random and possibly inappropirate times. But there were also fews occasions that Shishido had caught him staring like some sort of fangirl (scary) with those freaky ass eyes of his while any one of the regulars played, definitely not normal. Not to mention the kid was like some goddamn Mary Sue (hehehe) who was blessed to have skills _and_ charisma. Since he entered Yukimatsuri, Tsukino had never lost a match, and he's beaten a fourth of the second years already.

That wasn't the real problem though.

The real issue was that Tsukino just loved to throw his, Shishido Ryou's, catch-phrase around whenever people starting teasing him. Everyone thought it was cute and all, but dammit, it was _his_ catch-phrase, no one else is supposed to be saying it _daily,_ especially when they're nothing like him (for Shishido refused to associate himself with the words 'cute' and 'Atobe-like'. **AN: but we all know he's adorable**)...and okay **FINE**, he didn't want to share Choutarou either.

At least he also used Hiyoshi's catch-phrase a lot and bothered the mushroom haired junior almost as often.

He hung out with Gakuto and Taki sometimes too, and that kept both of them out of Shishido's hair, so that was a plus (Shishido had been once treated to the absolutely hilarious sight of the freshman running away from an over-excited brunette who was wielding his trusty straightening iron and a comb).

Jirou was now awake more often as well, as soon as Yuushi (who still hung out with the team) suggested that he shouldn't be a bad example for the chibi, even if that had been rather short-lived it was still impressive.

Still, it wasn't fair that the captain and Kabaji were usually left more or less out of the way of any real stupidity.

He sighed and hoisted his tennis bag to his shoulders. He needed to stop thinking.

--dotted line--

Tsukino had been at the street courts for about a half an hour now. She had originally set out to cause trouble, but then it struck her.

...She didn't know how.

She could hardly just go up to someone and punch. Mary Sue's don't do that (damned rules).

She couldn't challenge people and just beat the crap out of them either. That would make her into a bad guy, which a Sue isn't supposed to be.

She couldn't stir up a catalyst for her character because her influence in this world was limited to herself, and it' not like rivals just appear out of nowhere (actually, sometimes they did, but they're not going to now).

She had thought that being around the characters would be a good experience. So far, it had been, and she really couldn't wait to get back and complete the most recent chapter of her fan fiction, but she knew that she couldn't back out now even if she wanted to. Tsukino had already made a deal with the weaver...She could only return to her own world if and only if she full-filled her part in this story.

That was why she was even practicing.

While it was true that Mary Sues never really have to practice and can simply make-ups different moves or copyright them as they went along (they're just naturally good, like Jin, except they don't normally look like gangsters or gorw to over six feet tall), it was also a fact that doing so would make everything much easier. Even without practice, your body would move in the way you thought it would anyway, and you pretty much controlled what happens in all your games. However, if you aren't really USE to the various motions you could end up feeling a bit nauseous the first time around. That was why she only stuck to basic tennis her first day. It was a lot easier since she already knew a little bit from what she had experienced in real life.

So now she was pounding her frustration out on a ball.

That was when trouble came to her.

On the next court over, two small boys were being thrown onto the pavement in the street courts, and this huge big guy hovering over them.

"Get of the court small-fries." he kicked them despite their being down. Then he beckoned to his equally rough looking friend. Neither of them noticed silvery eyes so narrowed they were practically closed.

Tsukino let herself slip effortlessly into Fuji-mode (as acting was something she could actually do half-way decently) as she made her way over. No one beats up defenseless children while she could help it (and she conveniently forgets that she practically is a child anyway).

"Excuse me..." She had an almost creepily disarming smile. "I would rather you not injure the other players on this court. It is a public place after all."

"What the hell is it to you bitch?" They brushed her off. "We don't need some girly pansy boy messing up our game."

Oh, that did it.

--dotted line--

Shishido had arrived just in time to see his kouhai punch someone in the gut. He was about to go over there and break up the fight, but something, just something told him not to intervene that it was better this way.

--dotted line--

Said kouhai meanwhile had forgotten that this was Prince of Tennis and that Mary Sues here don't ordinarily punch, so now she was dodging blow after blow...good thing she took those boxing classes in the third grade.

Then a holy revelation hit her (you can almost see the sarcasm).

This was **Prince of _Tennis_**, duh!

She leapt back and smirked at the two thugs. "I'll bet you can't touch me in tennis either. Come on guys."

"Youre on!" they were already furstrated form the fact that they couldn't catch her. Slowpokes.

"How about we make this interesting?" She licked her lips frighteningly, "Loser never shows his face here again."

They bought it; hook, line, and sinker. Still smirking devilishly she swung the visor of her cap to the back of her head as she faced the two bullies on the other side of the court. "Two against one? Sonna wa wakai yo (literal: that is still young/actual: you noobs)."

Her only answer was a serve to her face.

"Hoi hoi, gekidasa da ze!"

--dotted line--

Shishido was annoyed at first (that brat was using his catchprase AGAIN!) but as time wore on, he felt his eyes widen at the game that progressed.

Have you ever watched yourself doing something?

It's kinda creepy isn't it? Even if it was only on video or something.

Well how do you think Shishido felt when he realized that it might as well have been him on that court?

No, it wasn't how Kabaji played, he had already seen that. It was literally a reflection of himself on the court. That kid replicated his attitude, his voice, even all of his habits were perfected down to the way he would unconsiously flip his now chin length hair (what, did you think he'd keep those unsightly spikes? It made him look like that weird peach guy from Seigaku) when he smashed **(AN: I made this up).** It was like he never left singles.

But seeing this, he could pick out a lot of flaws too. to his well trained eye, it was obvious how the other boy's body was too small to fully use Shishido's particular brand of tennis, how much stress it put on the muscles, and all the openings that could be exploited simply because he lacked a doubles partner to cover for his recklessness.

Though admittedly, it would have been easier to swallow if he had lied and blamed Tsukino for butchering up his style, but Shishido wasn't fond of lying to himself (at least when he was concsious of it anyway). Those mistakes have always been there. Looking at his flawed playing, it really was no wonder he lost to Tachibana's superior skills.

However he fully indulged in the satisfaction that even with so many bad points in his play, it was still more than enough to beat those buffoons in a love match.

The sore losers moved to fight the younger boy, but a nice hard serve stopped them in their tracks. "We made a deal didn't we?"

"Nobody fucking cares, bitch!" one of them growled. The next serve knocked him out cold. The other idiot backed away from the threatening aura that hovered around the short kid that had just gone medieval on their asses.

"I suggest you take your friend and scram," Tsukino sub-consciously shifted into Atobe mode. "Or would you like the honor of serving as my practice targets, ah?."

Shishido now had an anime style lines and a nice bid sweatdrop hovering around his head as he listened to the, now mini ice-emperor's superior holier-than-thou undertones.

That kid was definitely weird.

But now, he was intrigued, Shishido realized as he watched his kouhai start talking to the two younger kids and showing them how to balance their rackets on one finger. As unnerving as he was, Tsukino was interesting, though Shishido had a half a mind to give the boy a good smack on the head for it. Still, he couldn't deny the fact any more than he could deny the flaws in his play.

--dotted line --

None of the three noticed the small purple notebook that lay forgotten under the bench as they left the courts but Shishido did.

--dotted line--

When he was sure that everyone else was a good distance away, only then did Shishido emerge from behind the bleachers and walk over. Almost tentatively, he picked up the purple cardboard, debating whether or not he should look through it.

Deciding that it wouldn't do any harm he flipped to the first page...and stared.

Written in bold block printing was the name Taki Haginosuke. The next page had a very accurately drawn picture, and Shishido blinked...

...Okay, freaky.

He turned twenty pages of math problems little notes and diagrams. Could his kouhai have some kind of obession with Taki?

Oh wait. Nope, behind the last page (which had a big 'CLEARED' written on it and a chibi Taki with a victory sign sitting on it), there was another page with Gakuto's name on it also in the same bold print and another very accurate picture. Again a whole bunch of calculations and notes, then one of the pictures drew his attention. There were a few things he vaguely recognized from his physics class, but nothing he could figure out and several perspectives of what looked like Gakuto's foot work just before he launched into his famous Moon Salute (Shishido had seen it enough times to figure the basics). The last page too had a big 'CLEARED' except this time Chibi Gakuto was back flipping off of it.The next one bore Hiyoshi's name. This time Shishido was careful to actually look at the rough uneven hadnwriting. There were small little facts about him plus a whole bunch of calculations, ten pages full of nothing but diagrams on the mechanics of Enbu tennis and the next five with a bunch of helpful tips and how it can be improved. Hiyoshi himself probably couldn't have done better. Behind those thirty odd pages was a blank sheet. Looks like he hadn't been cleared yet, but then it was the end of the notebook.

Shishido went and flipped back through again. It looks like the entire team's (or maybe just those three, but more likely the whole team) been watched ever since his last year in Hyoutei. Actually, this explained a lot. Come to think of it, he could faintly remember someone always off in the corner of the street court whenever he practiced with Choutarou.

"That little stalker," he whispered to himself, but the insult held no venom. He pocketted the book and began to practice.

--dotted line--

When Tsukino got home she slid into her computer and searched for any and all Mary Sue fics she could find. There has to be some way for Sues to cause trouble and, laws of fanfiction be damned, she **WILL FIND IT!**

--dotted line--

Shishido was waiting outside the band hall, waiting for the freshmen music class to let out. It's been two days since the fiasco at the street court where he found Tsukino's notes. He had been planning to give them back the very next day, but their schedules had yet to allow him time alone with the first year (not that he had ever wanted any before). So today, he had taken advantage of his last period teacher's obvious favor (amazing the kind of things a teacher's pet could get away with) and skipped out five minutes before the bell. He had managed to coax the younger boy's schedule out of Taki the day prior and since it was fairly close, managed to get there before the end of school.

Even before the ear splitting bell sounded, there were already sounds of packing up and horsing around. The band teacher never complained about that kind of stuff. As long as the instruments were out of harm's way and no school property was vandalized, he let the students do pretty much whatever they wanted for the last few minutes of class, even let them out early if he felt like it. This fact was proven true by the onslaught of students pouring though the doors, all eager for their academic day to end already.

However the familiar mop of black blue hair wasn't amongst the wave of students.

As soon as the last few students trickled out of the room, the brunette poked his head inside.

The other boy was pretty much attempting to turn the place upside down and clean it up at the same time. After he gave a quick nod in greeting to the teacher, Shishido crossed the room in long srides over to his still frantic kouhai. "Hoi."

The younger boy must have jumped at least two feet into the air. "A little off today, huh? Gekidasa da na."

"Shishido-senpai, gomen." when Shishido had taken a good look at the boy, he was taken quite abruptly aback. His kouhai was a mess. His uniform (though it was normally messy anyway) was even more unkempt than usual, like he had only thrown it on before running into a tornado or something. His tie wasn't even knotted right, and there were dark shadows under his eyes. The boy yawned deeply before turning back to pack his stuff. "Mah ne, is there something you need to tell me? I'm sorry, I just really need to get going."

"Is that anyway to treat your senpai?" there was an amused comment coming from the corner. Teachers have such bad timming.

"Ah, SUMIMASEN!" it was as if a switch was flicked. The raven haired teenager began apologizing profusely. It looks like he picked up a few things from Choutarou after all (though an over reacting kid on hyperdrive was not somehting that was needed right now. It took a while to mellow him out. "I'm sorry is there anything you need to talk to me about?"

"Firstly," he reached out and undid the red cord around the boy's neck, "If you're going to wear your tie like that, you might as well as not wear it at all. Secondly, what the heck is wrong with you? You're even ditzier than Jirou today!"

"Gomen," Tsukino yawned again and tried (failed) to rub the sleep from his eyes. "I lost (yawn) something two days ago (yawn), and I (yawn) can't seem to find (yawn) it. I've been (yawn) looking for it (yawn) since yesterday (yawn)."

And Shishido felt a small part of his heart go out to the kid.

--dotted line--

There was a strange expression on Shishdo's face now. As good as she was at reading people, Tsukino was too sleepy to tell right now. God, she hoped he wasn't angry.

Suddenly, cool long fingers raked gently through her hair.

--dotted line--

Shishido ruffled his companion's hair affectionately. Curse his soft spot for cute, helpless-looking things. He almost smiled as the little boy leaned a little into his touch reminiscent of a puppy being petted by its owner. Then he made a decision.

Deftly and efficiently he swung the smaller body onto his back and, as quickly as possible, carried him down to the tennis courts hoping ot high heavens that he hadn't been seen by any of his team members.

Why was helping the brat?

Well missing practice without forewarning was not an option for a freshman. It would hurt his record, no matter what rank he was. No, better to show up anyway and be dismissed. It wasn't like he had a choice, really. There was no way this kid would be able to navigate Yukimatsuri's many stairs or even the elevators in his current condition, and Shishido wasn't about to have attempted murder eating at his conscience. He would never be able to look either his partner nor the former's kouhai in the face again.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore how the boy was trying to snuggle into him.

When he finally set the boy down on one of the benches in the club room, Tsukino had already dozed off.

"Hey, come on. Change first, then I'll let you sleep, hey." There was no difference in his state until Shishido began un buttoning the boy's blazer. then those silver eyes opened about half way. the pupil was unseen. Within a few seconds a fist just barely missed his cheek. The eyes then fully opened and widened. The younger boy jumped up and once more belted out a string of apologies that Shishido cut short. "Everyone has their quirks. It would be pointless for me to ask about it, so I won't. But I will have to talk to you after practice today, kay?"

"Hai." And the other occupant of the locker rooms grabbed his clothes and disappeared behind a shower stall.

He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it, but the blue-capped boy waited until his underclassman stumbled out before heading to the courts himself. Once there he didn't protest as his drowzy teammate curled up against his side, and even let the younger boy use his jacket as a makeshift pillow. "You have a little more than a half an hour. I'll wake you as soon as Atobe gets here."

"Senpai."

"Nanda (translation: what?)?

"Ima made, arigatou gozaimashita (Literal: until now, thank you/Actual: thanks for everything."

"Don mai don mai (literal: don't mind/actual: don't mention it). "Oyasumi nasai ne."

--dotted line--

Hehe Shi-kun's such a magnet.


	4. Case of The Disappearing Chibi

Ah how I love writing about Hyoutei!

Mah na, I feel like doing a recap. Why? I don't know. I just do.

Anyway

Story thus far: Tsukino Rei is a cross dressing Mary Sue by choice and had been inserted neatly into a made-up highschool which all the Hyoutei regulars are somehow attending. She is about the same age as Echizen Ryoma (younger by 2 days), but didn't really stand-out in her freshman year. However she made the regulars in her junior year and became fukubucchou in her third year. She is also Ohtori Choutarou's special kouhai and often actively engages in playful displays of affection where he is concerned. She is not too concerned about the stereotypical hierarchy of the school or tennis team and manages to get on the bad side of three of the regulars (all former Hyoutei regulars) on her first day. She has been described as Shishido (cap and catchphrase), Atobe (appearance and arrogance) and Jirou (obliviousness) all meshed into one. Another side of her is shown when Shishido finds her notebook and the large amount of of data she has on Taki Gakuto and Hiyoshi, and realizes her copying tendencies. He takes the notebook, intending to return it to her the next day, but due to a schedule conflict, that doesn't work out. She looked for it for two nights before Shishido confronted her in order to give the note book back, but she fell asleep on him due to her forty eight hours lack of rest.

Okay, now for the disclaimer! Would one of the Hyoutei regulars please be so kind?

Gakuto: (not paying attention, too focused on his boyfriend)

Yuushi: (see Gakuto)

Hiyoshi: Gekokujou da.

...I'm going to take that as a no.

Jirou: zzzzzz

...I guess it's no use asking you huh?

Shishido: Gekidasa da ze (tries to pry his kouhai-tachi off him because PDA is not cool, unless there's nobody watching, in which case it doesn't really count as PDA anymore).

Choutarou: (hugging his adorably sleeping kouhai who's clinging to Shishido in his/her sleep) Aw, but Shishido-san isn't he cute? (Shishido caves under those ridiculously adorable puppy dog eyes)

Taki: (is in the background somewhere and doesn't want to come forward)

Atobe: Oresama doesn't understand why you do not just buy it. Then you would not have to bother oresama with troublesome disclaimers, na Kabaji?.

Kabaji: usu

...You know what? FINE! I don't own Prince of Tennis or it's characters, do I Kabaji-san!? (snaps)

Kabaji: usu

There we go, now on with the story!

--dotted line--

Atobe thought that he'd be the first one onto the courts, since he came in early to settle some of the ridiculous amount of paperwork that being captain entailed. He was even considering getting a fukubucchou just to help him with the pointless, repetitive, and over-all dreary routine.

Of course it was only a thought. Oresama was oresama and therefore he did not need a fukubucchou like other captains.

Besides it wasn't so bad comming in early once in a while if he could walk in on sights like the one he was seeing now.

There was Tsukino (the brat was actually rather cute when he was out cold), sleeping deeply enough to make even Jirou proud, but that wasn't what caught his attention.

"Looks like you've adopted another one, na Shishido." The other boy started and bristled imediately afterwards.

"Hey! It's not like...!" He blushed in embarrassment, but made no move to push the other boy off like he would normally have done to anyone who was not Ohtori Choutarou (he did that to Jirou once, though that didn't actually disturb the blonde) in such a situation.

Contrary to popular opinion, Atobe did in fact enjoy bantering with his friends and teammates, poking fun at them whenever the opportunity presented itself. Now that it had, he saw no reason to waste it. Besides, it might give him a little more insight into this little enigma that Choutarou had picked up from seemingly nowhere.

"Oh?" He decided to kill two birds with one stone. "Oresama expects and explantion after practice, or else oresama may unintentionally misunderstand this...unique situation. You have ten minutes to wake him up. We wouldn't want the others to stumble on your little secret, now would we?"

And he walked off leaving behind his horrified looking team member, trying desperately to make up their little chibi.

Calmly, Atobe picked up his personal clip board and marked off Tsukino's name on the roll sheet while filing in the box for excused dismissal too. Atobe wasn't blind. If the boy's behavior at lunch was any indication, he would only be a danger to himself and other club members if he were actually to attend practice. How did he degenerate to that state anyway?

Shishido had a lot of explaining to do.

--dotted line--

It might not seem that way, but Taki was a very good observer. Often ignored in the presence of the other, much flashier players of first Hyoutei and now Yukimatsuri, he had always been able to watch the comings and goings of most of the club. The thought that someone like Tsukino Rei could slip beneath his radar was, for the most part, very disconcerting.

Firstly, the freshman had already defeated a good portion of second years, proving himself more than proficient enough to hold his own against the normal high school level. Someone like that couldn't fly low especially in a school like Hyoutei.

Secondly, the boy's tennis style was, like all other aspects of him, unusual and ill fitting somehow. Taki had expected a much rougher more recklessly powerful type of tennis, like Ohtori's, or Jirou's, or maybe Shishido's, it matched his personality anyway. However, it was the exact opposite.

Tsukino's tennis was nearly identical to his own.

Now for Taki, that was almost like a slap in the face. Though he had the talent to shine, he had always pretty much laid low, hidden just behind Atobe's overwhelming prowess or Ohtori's dynamite service aces, unheeded but not unimportant by any means. He defeated oponents humiliatingly, focusing on and uncanny mastery of the bascis and his good sense of balance to worm his way through any holes left in their play. Few people realize the significance of it , and even fewer had the patience to perfect such a dreary routine, opting instead to experiment with difficult stunts that normally don't work half as well. And though it was definitely flattering to have someone play like him (and hell the kid could play however he damn liked) Taki couldn't help feeling that there was just something that didn't click.

Thirdly, unless Taki was wrong (which did not happen very often), their litt kouhai hasn't even shown his real colors yet. it wasn't quite clear just how, but he was definitely holding back.

...well okay, Taki wasn't a hundred percent sure. Tsukino hadn't done anythign to indicate that it was otherwise. It was just kind of a subconscious knowing on Taki's part.

Still, when he confronted Atobe, his bucchou agreed with it so he wasn't just imagining things.

That was why when the rich heir offered him a chance to find out more, he grabbed it.

--dotted line--

Atobe watched as Shishido and Choutarou defeated four of their pre-regulars in a measly seventeen minutes. He always knew his friend worked well under pressure, but this was quite the feat. He should blackmail Shishido more often.

Of course, it was only a thought. Beside's it was about time to end practice anyway.

_Snap_ "Practice is over! Freshmen pick up and take inventory of all the balls, anyone else who was penalized today for any reason, you will be taking down the nets." He commanded. All the club members fell into the usual routine with little fuss. "Oresama bids you all a good day and demands that no one's things are left laying around the locker rooms or courts. The school does not wish to have its janitors clean up after club activities."

He showered quickly as he always did and changed back into his school uniform. Taki was leaning against the door waiting for him when he came out.

If Atobe were to describe his childhood friend, he woud say that Taki is more or less like the flu. It sounds very insulting, but honestly that was just how Taki was. With the powerful incredibly vivid image set by the rest of the team, Taki just sort of disappeared into the back ground. Few people took notice, but he was there for a reason, almost like people forgot that a case of influenza, if not treated correctly could prove fatal. Nobody realized Taki's brilliance until it was too late. In his own right, he was just a dangerous as anybody else.

That was why he always kept Taki near the team, actual regular or not.

"Shall we?"

"Let's go."

--dotted line--

Shishido had never been more grateful to dentists. He even promised to make sure his siblings never caused any trouble in a dentist's office again (although he wasn't sure how long he could keep it).

Choutarou had had a dentist appointment right after practice so he didn't need to make up any excuses why he couldn't walk his kouhai home today.

...But now he had another problem.

WHERE THE HELL WAS THE BRAT?!

Shishido was sure he left him on the bleachers just out of sight of the courts. Where could he have gotten to in such a short time, while asleep no less?

--dotted line--

Atobe was annoyed. Shishido had not been at the scheduled meeting place. He didn't even leave a note! Atobe felt like such an idiot with Taki tagging along behind him looking for the blue capped boy. He had promised information!

...Someone was going to pay...probably Shishido.

--dotted line--

Jirou had been looking forward to taking a well-deserved nap on his favorite bench beside the grassfield area where the soccer team normally practiced (but they weren't there today) just outside the beady eyes of his unreasonable coach and his gazillions of laps (others never got fifty laps for closing their eyes for five measly minutes, and he could beat all of them in tennis matches, even if it was two against one!).

Key words: _had been._

Before Jirou could lay down on his beloved bench, he tripped.

Turing around to try and find what tripped him (he was still on the ground), he spotted his kawaii little friend peacefully alseep.

His first impulse was to hug his little kouhai like a teddy bear (because the chibi was just soooooo cute while he was asleep), which he did.

The second thought that crossed his mind was that, though the bench here was very nice, the grass wasn't as much so (being a little dry and hay-like, therefore rather prickly), and the sun was beating down directly on them. It was definitely nothing compared to the nice cool shade of his favorite tree and it's soft bed of moss and clovers. Though Atobe and Kabaji were the only ones who knew about it (only these two could find Jirou whenever he did not wish to be disturbed AKA a little more than half a the time), Jirou felt like he could make an exception today. After all, it was a senpai's job to look after his adorable little kouhai right? And regardless, fellow sleepy-heads need to stick together!

--dotted line--

Shishido Ryou was panicking **_BIG TIME!_**

He had looked everywhere he could think of (and that was quite a lot)! Now his mind was still racing, wondering what could have possibly happened between the begining of practice and when it ended. Nothing made any sense!

Luckily, all of that thinking did not go entirely to waste. Yes, dear readers, even through darkness there is always a ray of hope. For though our brave hero doth not know the whereabouts of his youthful protege, he did know someone who might be able to find out.

**_"HIYOSHI!!HELP ME FIND THAT GODDAMN CHIBI!!"_**

--dotted line--

Hiyoshi just knew that fate hated him.

You see, back in middle school there were only two people who could find their wayward little regular when the boy disappeared. One was of course, Ohtori Choutarou. the other one was...the boy's best friend Kuramichi Sai.

Honestly, Hiyoshi didn't have any idea how to find the little brat. It's not like he ever had enough time to spare trying.

...And besides, Hiyoshi wasn't sure about Tsukino's favorite spots in Yukimatsuri, just finding the ones in Hyoutei had been difficult enough.

...actually, now that he thought about it. There was a piece of advice left over from that one day that neither of the two were available.

"Check in the trees."

--dotted line--

Shishido had never really like Hiyoshi that much. The junior was an enigma, one that Shishisdo was perfectly happy knowing nothing about. Now he liked the creepy mushroom-like boy even less.

"How the hell could a half asleep little short kid end up in a tree?" Shishido could practically feel a vein bursting on his forehead.

"Ask Ohtori," the mushroom had the nerve to push the blame on his classmate! How low! "The one time I had to find the brat, that was exactly what he told me. You know any particularly nice ones around?"

Shishido sighed and gave in, it's not like he had any better leads. "Define nice."

"Strong ones, with thick trunks, I think. Branches fairly close ot the ground." Shishido had no way of knowing that Hiyoshi was describing that one particular tree he found Tsukino sleeping in two years prior, notebook on his face. "I think, your partner said something about oak trees. Isn't there one pretty near the track?"

Hiyoshi found himself practically levitating two seconds later as he was dragged by his senpai to the other side of school. Shishido obviously did not notice.

--dotted line--

Hiyoshi was returning Shishido's glare evenly.

"You said he'd be here."

"I said to check. I told you, Ohtori and Kuramichi Sai are the only two people I know who could find that kid if he doesn't want to be found. They gave me the same advice, so I _figured_ it would help." He emphasized and walked off. "Why are you looking for him anyway! And why am I helping!"

He turned away in a huff. Stupid senpai, wasting his precious gekokujou-ing time.

Although Hiyoshi would never allow himself to admit it to Shishido, he was actually slightly worried. Under all that gekokujou talk, he really was a caring person. He just had to hide it because even if Jirou-senpai did it all the time, _he, Hiyoshi, _was not under Atobe's protection, and therefore he'd be walked all over if he went around with his heart on his sleeve. How could he gekokujou anybody then?

But right now, he allowed himself to worry a tiny bit.

Why?

Obviously because there was no way in hell that brat he called a kouhai could look out for himself. People like that should never be left to their own devices because something bad was sure to happen.

This was when both he and Shishido (they were still screaming at each other) tripped at the exact same time.

See? It was already happening.

--dotted line--

Jirou's bleary eyes opened up to Hiyoshi and Shishido sprawled out at his feet (what is it Hyoutei regulars and tripping over each other?). His first impulse waited for a goddamn long while before coming though, so for a minute or two he just stared blankly at the two (who were still fighting).

Then he suddenly remebered.

"Sssssshhhhhh! Chibi-kun's sleeping!"

--dotted line--

Hiyoshi stared blankly at the blonde whose hand was clamped firmly over his mouth.

_'Wow, this is stupid'_ he thought

--dotted line--

Shishido stared blankly at Jirou whose hand was pressed hard against his mouth.

_'Gekidasa da ne.'_

--dotted line--

"Ah, Shishido. Oresama has finally found you." Atobe walked up, Taki and Kabaji in tow, looking properly annoyed. "You have some explaining to do. Na Kabaji?"

"Usu."

"...Shishido-kun?"

"whmf?" The capped boy muttered darkly from behind his teammate's hand.

"What is it with you and younger men?"

--dotted line--

LOL, sorry Shishido-san! I just can't help it.

Atobe: Yeah, Shishido. Oresama also wishes to understand the fixation you have with underclassmen.

Shishido: _I DO NOT HAVE A FIXATION!_

Yuushi: then explain why you have so many scenes involving younger players!

Shishido: I do not!

Gakuto: but you only have like one scene when you're not with Choutarou. And then you always play against that one snake guy from Seigaku. Even when you played against Tachibana they show like all his junior teammates.

Choutarou: Shishido-san! (tries to prevent his beloved snepai from beating up his other senpai-tachi)

Shishido: (struggling to break Choutarou's iron grip and pounce on Gakuto).

Hiyoshi: gekokujou da.

...

Jirou: zzzzzz

...why am I always ignored? (curls up next to Jirou and starts sleeping too becuase she's got nothing better to do)


	5. In which Oresama is annoyed

Mah na, I finally crumbled and got a beta for this fic, although I originally wasn't going to.

Mei-chan, Gomen gomen. I kinda wanted to go it alone since I was sure I could handle a humor fic by myself (apparently I can't) I would've contacted you about it otherwise). Oh and thank her for alerting me of my stupid mistake of loading the same document onto chapters four and five.

And the rest of you, please say hi to Orignialcrazian-san whom I'm sure speaks on behalf of you all when she told be how bad my grammar and spelling actually was. Fear no more, I don't think very many mistakes will slip through again.

Ah yes, disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis on account of I'm far too poor to buy it for myself (I ADMITTED IT! HAPPY NOW ATOBE?)and nobody else wanted to buy it for me.

--dotted line--

Tsukino didn't really want to wake up yet. It was too comfortable here in the nice cool shade and it's soft bedding which bore the refreshing green smell of a newly cut lawn. She could have slept here for all eternity.

Sadly, there were too many people shouting. When the hell did they get here anyway?

Wait a minute…when did she get here?

…Where was here?

"TAKI!" Gah, what is with the yelling?

Silver eyes opened slowly to a very strange sight.

Shishido and Hiyoshi were on the ground, the latter of whom was holding the former back from attempting to strangle Taki who was hiding behind Kabaji who was standing next to Atobe. Jirou senpai was sitting next to him watching the whole mess as if it was an everyday occurrence (it probably was).

"…Crazy senpai-tachi."

Suddenly everything was eerily silent and every eye was on her.

…_Oops, must have said that aloud._

--dotted line--

"Chibi-kun!" Jirou was the first one to break the silence. He pouted cutely at everyone. "Aw look at what you guys did! You woke Chibi-kun! Don't worry Chibi-kun. Go back to sleep, and I'll make sure these mean people don't wake you again."

Their kouhai smiled, but made no move to lie back down. Maybe that was just because he was caught up in Jirou's tight bear hug. However the youngest of the bunch did shake his head.

"Iya, Shishido-senpai said he needed to talk to me, anyway." He yawned before turning to the blue capped boy. "Sorry I overslept."

"Nah, it's alright." Shishido was no longer attempting to kill Taki, but he was still in Hiyoshi's firm head lock (Hiyoshi was still holding on because he's always wanted to put someone in a head lock). "Jirou's always been worse anyway."

"Hey! I'm not that bad am I, Chibi-kun!?" The pouting blonde looked to his kouhai for the reassurance the young boy happily gave.

"You're a great senpai, Akutagawa-senpai." Tsukino smiled. Jirou pretend to be exasperated (and failed).

"Chibi-kun! We've been through this before." He prodded the now awake and smiling little boy. "You're suppose ta call me Jikkun!"

"Hai, Jikkun-senpai."

Hiyoshi mumbled something about selectively disrespecting brats.

--dotted line--

Had Atobe been a lesser man, he would have laughed long ago (or lost his mind, whichever comes first). As of now, he was just barely holding in his amusement. The captain does have appearances to keep up with you know.

Although he certainly wouldn't mind watching this exchange for a little while longer, gut then, he did have priorities.

Atobe snapped his fingers to gain the attention of the freshmen and Shishido. "You two, follow Ore-sama, you have quite a bit explaining to do."

"Atobe, can I come too?" Jirou was already on his feet, but still glued to the shorter boy, a hopeful look in his eyes. "Please? I swear I won't cause any trouble."

"Yeah. Atobe-Buchou." The boy smiled. "You know he's not gonna let go of me 'til you say yes."

Atobe opened his mouth just as Shishido spoke up too. "It's kinda his decision right? I mean, we are talking about him."

"I don't really mind either Atobe-kun," Taki added.

"Fine, whatever, you can all come. Be awed at my boundless generosity." their captain snapped before Hiyoshi could put in his two bits.

Of course Atobe was brushed to the side as usual. He was not very pleased to find that Kabaji was the only one who had actually bothered to stay and listen. The rest of the group had already started off towards the parking lot. "Those ungrateful … Kabaji let's go."

"Usu."

--dotted line--

Hiyoshi found himself staring at the boy who sat sandwiched between him and the window, staring out at the buildings that flashed pass them too quickly to properly identify.

Alright, alright, he admitted it. The boy did intrigue him, though he hadn't been quite as willing to move in as close as Choutarou did. The interest was there none the less.

He had actually taken notice of the freshman in his second year. The boy was no one particularly special back then, kind of just in the back ground at first, but slowly Hiyoshi began to notice that this kid always showed up to every single match. Whether rain or shine, whether it was Hyoutei that played or not, he was always standing there, watching, with a note book and video camera in hand. At first, he had brushed it off as maybe a junior member of the school newspaper. Tsukino certainly had the supplies for it.

The second time was towards the end of the year. He had actually been inside the dojo, practicing his kata, trying to get over the fact that they, that _he_ lost _again._ His father had interrupted him, with a request to fight the youngest student of his intermediate class and help him with the kid's forms. When he faced the boy in his too big uniform and that clueless (and too big) of a smile, he thought it was going to be another hopeless case that his father was trying to be rid of. He had been, wrong. The boy had been very good, a little unorthodox now and then, but definitely skilled (though he had tripped over the pants of his own gi promptly after their match……which, Hiyoshi would like to point out, the younger boy had lost). Since Tsukino had been one of the few students Hiyoshi actually got along okay with, he was forced to play senpai for four months by (of all people) his mother. He seldom had seen the boy in the dojo again, although he passed the intermediate class several times. His father said Tsukino had wanted to focus more on his other hobbies before it was too late.

It wasn't until his third year, that his interest was really sparked. He had walked in as captain, Choutarou behind him, ready to hand-pick the newest regulars out of the remaining club members. They had both heard rumors of a new talent who had a good chance of making it in. Imagine his shock – and annoyance – when he found out who that particular talent was. It did not help when he found the kid copying his Enbu tennis moves.

**Flashback**

**Hiyoshi stared at he freshmen's ending pose. That had been…against Echizen…his move. Choutarou gave him a sideways sort of worrying glance. Hiyoshi just stared at the junior walking off to the bleachers to wait for his next match. He headed over as well.**

"**So this is what you took Kobujutsu for?" He growled at the back of his throat. How dare this boy copy what he had tried to build up for so long?**

"**Iya." He took a deep breath. "I started martial arts long before was I ever interested in tennis, but I stopped because of it."**

"**Oh? Why?" **

"**I am attracted to power Hiyoshi-senpai." His breathing had slowed to its normal pace, but the competitive glint in his eyes never left. "Kobujutsu was power, so I tried it. Just recently, I was taught that tennis was power too, so I'm trying this. I'm still attending lessons, just not as often as I once did."**

"**Why did you feel the need to copy me?"**

"**Because senpai," suddenly there was a sunny smile that made Hiyoshi think of rainbows, puppies, and teddy bears. "You said to watch and learn."**

"**Stupid chibi."**

"**Hai senpai."**

**End flashback**

Since then, though Enbu tennis did not show itself a second time, Hiyoshi had been baffled time and time again by the boy's drastically fluctuating plays. Some times it won them a lot, and some times it didn't, but neither Hiyoshi nor Choutarou ever allowed Sakaki sensei to expel Tsukino. The youngest, himself, had brought up the issues several times, but Hiyoshi had always told him to shut-up about it (he did after a sixth time). Other than that, nobody dare breathe a word. After all, they all knew, whether the boy had lost or not, they needed him.

Hiyoshi almost regretted telling the boy off for using his Enbu tennis, who knows, he might've been able to take it farther had Hiyoshi tutored him a bit here and there. He could have built another prince.

The blonde (that is not Jirou) boy bit back a smile.

As if that would ever happen, Tsukino was the type who learned the most when taught the least. It was almost as if he enjoyed sneaking around for bits of information that, had he been honest enough to ask, most people would have given him freely, without a second thought.

……Stupid chibi.

Hiyoshi only realized when the limo had come to a complete stop that they weren't at Atobe's mansion at all, and his kouhai had practically jumped of the moving car to run into the house (which by the way was not locked).

--dotted line--

Shishido blinked when his kouhai came out with not less stuff, but more, three extra notebooks to be precise.

"Ne, I thought you were gonna drop off your stuff, not get more stuff." Jirou pushed Hiyoshi out of his way so he could sit next to the chibi.

"Jirou-senpai," the mushroom growled as he climbed back onto the leather seats, this time he settled down by Kabaji. "You could've just asked."

"But stealing a seat is so much more fun!" the volley specialist justified. How Jirou managed to look innocent and cute while saying that was something that Shishido was not entirely sure he wanted to know.

The capped boy turned his attention back to the three thick notebooks clutched tightly in the younger boy's arms. "This would make explaining a lot easier on my part." He insisted.

Shishido shook his head. He wondered which of those he was in. He opened his back pack and rummaged around for the purple one. "Hoi, I found this a few days ago. I was gonna return it, but I never had the chance."

As soon as the cardboard thing sat safely inside Tsukino's hands Shishido was given a smile that made him felt like he had ended world hunger and gotten rid of global warming at the same time or something. Suddenly his arms were full of one energetic little boy thanking him profusely, over and over again. Silver eyes looked up at him with something not unlike hero worship, large and shiny. A complete contrast to his favorite kouhai's eyes and yet eerily similar.

"It's nothing," he mumbled while trying to get the kid off of him, really, this was embarrassing. "I just found it."

But even he couldn't convince himself of that, not when the boy clutched that flimsy notebook like the most valuable treasure in the universe. Almost lovingly, he stroked the plain and rather beat-up violet cover.

"I was afraid that I would have to start all over again." He petted the cover. "And then those years, those two long years of watching would have disappeared."

"Didn't you clear two thirds of it already though?" Shishido asked. Of course, none of the other knows what he's talking about.

"Clearing, senpai, is not the same as learning." A different smile was on his face. It was almost sad, no, wistful. "Clearing doesn't mean that I've already memorized everything. It means I trust myself enough to use it, not that I don't need to go back and re-study my notes, or rework my mistakes or factor in anything new. Mah ne, I'm so stupid. I know should duplicate these onto my computer. It'd be a lot more precise anyway. But for some reason, I'm really attached to notebooks."

Shishido flicked the kid across the forehead gently and smiled.

"Like I said before," ha flashed the normal reassuring grin he normally saved for Choutarou when the other boy ever happens to make a mistake. "Everyone has their quirks. I'm not about to dis' you for yours, and neither is anyone else, _right?_"

"Of course not, right guys?" Jirou leaned over to hug the kid.

Two knowing smiles were all that answered him.

--dotted line--

Taki hasn't been this amused for awhile. He threw a quick glance at Atobe. The heir shrugged and smirked, so Taki too shook his head and left it at that. Shishido was such a dork. It was even funnier when there was someone looking up at him with the kind of adoring eyes that were usually looking down (Taki mentally thanked Kami-sama for making Choutarou the taller half of their number one doubles pair). Can anyone say, Kodak moment?

Taki could. And with that said, he captured their surprised faces with his trusty cell phone.

--dotted line--

"Alright," Atobe snapped (with his fingers not his voice) to draw attention to the fact that the group has now arrived at his mansion. Once they were all in his personal study, he turned to Shishido and Tsukino. "Back to business, will someone please explain to oresama why the little brat was practically a zombie for most of today?"

Two pairs of eyes blinked at him confusedly. "Oh was that what you wanted to know?"

Atobe felt like smacking the two idiots (or rather, telling Kabaji to do so) he had the misfortune to have in his club. "Ore-sama has excused you from tennis practice without a proper reason! Ore-sama had gone through the trouble to look for you all over campus instead of simply calling and demanding that you both come to him! Ore-sama has even invited you to his humble (yeah right) home incase we happen to approach a sensitive subject. WHAT ELSE WOULD ORE-SAMA WISH TO KNOW?!"

"I thought you were wondering why we were slacking off before practice." Shishido said shrugging as he poured himself a cup of apple cider from Atobe's mini-fridge…which was not all that mini.

"Gomen ne, Atobe-buchou. I thought you wanted to know why I was copying Taki senpai's tennis." The younger boy bit his bottom lip as he looked up. With those huge pale eyes of his "You're not mad are you?"

Atobe was momentarily taken aback. He felt as if he had just beaten a defenseless little puppy, or yelled at Choutarou (with the way Shishido and Jirou were glaring at him, that probably wasn't too far from the mark). He gave an inward sigh.

"Amazingly enough, no," he waved a hand dismissively, "Even though, for all intents and purposes, ore-sama has every right to be. But yes, the explanations would be nice."

"Oh well you see," the boy brightened but he had one of those slightly embarrassed grins that Jirou wore whenever he did something stupid. "I lost my notebook and I was up all night looking for it. I didn't know that Shishido senpai had it all along."

"Nah, I should have given it back earlier. I was actually going to give it back to him, but the kid collapsed on me." Shishido explained looking away. "I just brought him down to the courts because his ranking would drop if he was absent this early in the year."

"But don't be mad at him either because it's my fault for being careless and losing it in the first place." the freshman added quickly. "And I really shouldn't have stayed up so late……."

"Is that it?" Atobe never cared if he interrupted anyone before, now was no exception. There was an odd sort of frown on the Yukimatsuri captain's face as if trying to contain his anger. Then he reached over and snatched up the notebook. "Lend this to oresama so he can see how this thing could possibly be important enough to make him walk around school several times for _over an hour_!"

--dotted line--

**AN**

**(1) Hiyoshi is annoyed that Tsukino normally disregards his authority (and Atobe's) despite them both being, and having been her buchou in the past. On the other hand, she insists on beign respectful towards Choutarou and Jirou without beign asked.**

**(2) well...being naturally short and small, she likes to feel strong.**

**(3) He's looks blonde to be.**

**(4) original seating order: Tsukino, Hiyoshi, Jirou, Shishido, Taki, Atobe, Kabaji. 2nd seating order – Jirou, Tsukino, Shishido, Taki, Atobe, Kabaji, Hiyoshi.**

**(5) Taki literally said "Kodak Moment" as he took their pictures. **


	6. Ya learn something new everyday

Gomen gomen, I know that this is very short and definitely not what I should geti nto the habit of writing, but please bear with me for a hile.

Mah ne, in other news, I FINALLY HAVE OVER 1000 HITS FOR THIS STORY!YAY!

disclaimer: I own nothing.

--dotted line--

"…….Lend this to Ore-sama, so he can see how this thing could possibly be important enough to make him walk around school several times for _over an hour_!"

Atobe's eyes slowly widened and his brows furrowed a bit. (…at what?)

It was not particularly often that Atobe couldn't understand something. It was equally rare when he couldn't understand something after he actually TRIED to understand it. This was in fact, the first time even his divine intelligence and flawless insight dubbed anything totally completely and impossibly not incomprehensible.

"How do you expect Ore-sama to understand this chicken scratch?" He held the notebook open for all to see...not that there was much they could see anyway. The writing went vertical, horizontal, upside down and backwards; all the characters were in an untidy and incredibly small script. The only thing minutely understandable, were the drawings and diagrams, which were very large in comparison to the writing.

Shishido burst out laughing. He just could not suppress it faced with such a ridiculous dilema. At first everyone stared at him strangely, but then his kouhai started giggling too as did Jirou.

"Ore-sama is still waiting for your answer," Atobe stated, glaring at the three. The two capped boys simply pointed to the bookmark, which, low and behold, bore a small magnifying glass.

Atobe's nose wrinkled in annoyance as he turned to his singles three player. "And pray tell, why are you laughing?"

"Their laughing tickled me," the blonde shrieked with joy. This prompted Tsukino and Shishido who were just beginning to calm down, to bellow out their amusement again, dragging Taki with them.

Only after a good five minutes were they finally calm enough to the resume the discussion.

"So why is there a magnifying glass book mark?" This time it was Hiyoshi who spoke aloud. "Don't tell me you can't even read your own writing."

"Actually, that was for Tori-senpai," Tsukino explained, "He made me put that in after he tried to read my notes the first time he tried to decipher it."

"Dear god, I hope your school notebooks don't look like that." Taki commented, delicately plucking the data from Atobe's fingers.

--dotted line--

The more Taki read the less he believed what he saw. Although his facial expressions never changed, he was getting more and more paranoid by the second. When was he watched, and how? How did this _kid_ know so much about him, down to how much cream he normally liked with his hot chocolate?

Putting on his usual front, he smiled and turned to the younger boy. "I noticed that not all of these things are strictly about tennis though. Care to explain?"

To his surprise as well as the other players, the boy didn't falter in the slightest in giving his answer, even under all the wary attention. Instead, he simply returned the gesture with a small laugh.

"Business, Senpai, business."

--dotted line--

"BUSINESS? THE HELL?" Shishido nearly sprayed out his mouthful of cider. Through his choking, he managed to say, "What's that (cough) supposed to (cough) mean (cough)?"

Kabaji patted him on the back a couple of times (very carefully making sure that he doesn't knock their doubles 1 player out).

A small giggle emitted from Tsukino's lips as his lips took on a strange smile, reminiscent of the one belonging to two familiar sadistic geniuses (who attend Seigaku and Rikkai). "Well, with the rather large amount of notebooks and disc I normally use, my allowance alone isn't remotely close to cover the amount of money need to fund my research."

Atobe, Shishido, Taki and Hiyoshi, all raised their eyebrows at the word. _Research?_

"So, of course, I'm always happy to accept any kind of donation anyone is willing to give me. They're usually very generous when I happen to … saaaaa… how should I phrase this?" He snapped his finger at the right word. "Let something slip."

"YOU SOLD OUT OUR **DATA?" **Hiyoshi and Shishido snapped, blowing up in his face.

Did Shishido ever say that he was getting just slightly fond of the little copycat? Oh, he didn't? Well, he WAS NEVER GOING TO! This is an outrage! Who the hell did this brat think he was?

"Why do you think it's there?" Tsukino asked with a rather dull and uncaring tone as well as an uncaring look on his face as he said it. He even held himself in that annoying posture Atobe always took when something bored him.

"Why you little…" Hiyoshi growled, he grabbed a fistful of the boy's shirt and practically lifted his kouhai off the ground. One fist was pulled back ready to punch. "How dare you leak our information out to other school?"

"Hiyoshi! Ore-sama will tolerate no fighting on this property!" Then he turned to Tsukino, angrily. "However, Ore-sama does want to know everything. Why are you selling our personal data to public?"

"Because my grandfather wouldn't give me an advance on my allowance. I'm not as rich as you are Buchou."

"Is anybody else in on this?"

"Moichiron. I couldn't manage all the customers myself."

"Who?" They questioned.

"Tori-senpai is one."

"You're lying, CHOUTAROU WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" Shishido had to be restrained by Kabaji before he beat up the younger boy.

"Even if that was true. Why would Ohtori Choutarou deliberately hurt his own tennis club?" His eyes, though still regal and elegant, were now more akin to shards of ice than anything, a true ice king.

"I hardly see how giving out Buchou's number would hurt the tennis club."

BAM!

Shishido and Hiyoshi had fallen to the ground at what they heard. Jirou was just about to as well. Taki nearly toppled off his table seat, just barely hanging on, and Atobe managed to stay upright on pure will alone.

As soon as he regained his composure, Hiyoshi tried to punch his stupid little underclassman again, only to find out he that he was already smirking safely behind Kabaji. There was a superior smirk on his face that, in a few years, might even be as aggravating as Atobe's.

"There are two of them?" Confused and awkward, the honey blonde boy voiced all their thoughts. But then he shrugged and squealed happily. "AAAAAAWESOOOOOOME!! THAT'S SOOOOOO CUUUUUUTE!!"

The mini Atobe image was, of course, broken by the large amount of glomping and joyful laughter that followed afterwards…with the occasional fighting between Hiyoshi and Tsukino (Well, on Hiyoshi's part. Tsukino simply made use of Atobe's many shelves and ridiculously high ceiling.

--dotted line--

Beyond time and space, a certain someone was frowning. The child was not following the rules.

She didn't like that.


	7. The biggest threat of all

Tried to make a long one this time, I think I actually made them a little bit OOC.

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me.

"Okay, you guys go ahead." Tsukino waved at the other first years. "I can wrap this up by myself."

"Thanks Tsukino," and the other freshmen left their classmate to finish folding the net and sweeping up the courts, except one who stayed behind watching.

"Come on Yamaguchi," His friends beckoned. "What are you waiting for?"

"Isn't leaving him to clean up alone every day a little harsh?" He asked. His friends shrugged.

"He asked for it." One replied passively.

"Actually we're probably doing him a favor, you know." The other said as he pulled the other two behind a building. "See?"

They followed his middle finger and saw the lone boy looking around him for a few seconds. Then he set the bin of tennis balls down. Quickly, he ran to his tennis bag left at the corner of the field and pulled from its interior a tennis racket. Stepping back on to the court he picked up one of the neon green orbs, threw it, and leaned back in preparation for a nice hard serve.

"You didn't come here from Hyoutei, Yamaguchi, so you don't know, but Tsukino was our fukubuchou last year. In our second year he already held the singles 3 position. If you take into account Hyoutei's 200+ players, that's nothing to laugh at. The thing was nobody even knew his name in freshman year. He was just that one kid who volunteered to clean up for everyone else. I found out his secret when a senpai assigned me like a billion laps one day."

"Does he do this everyday?"

"Everyday." The other boy confirmed. "That's why he's so strong. He does it in secret because the senpai don't want us using club equipment after hours. The street courts are never as good as Yuki Matsuri's ones. That's how come he can beat the second years, probably aiming for a regular spot when the seniors graduate."

"Why don't we do that?" Yamaguchi asked.

"Why should I?" the first scoffed. "My family has a tennis court in our backyard. I practice there instead. Maybe I'll invite you over sometime."

"My father's a member in a country club that has a real pro to teach us tennis. That's where I do my practicing. I prefer to have expert advice." The other raised his nose in the air. Yamaguchi just shook his head and headed towards the locker rooms. He liked his friends but sometimes they were just a little…much.

---scene change---

Out of the corner of her eye Rei watched as the three freshmen walked off. She was beginning to think they'd never leave.

When they were out of sight she fished a dark blue notebook out of her pocket and began to mold her body to the form drawn in her book. She threw the ball up and served.

By the time she had finished cleaning the sun was about to set. Gingerly, the cross dresser tiptoed into the locker room looking carefully around her. All the other club members have left. The only living beings that remained, were her, that little sparrow perched on the window sill, and a snoozing Jirou senpai.

Glancing briefly at the snoring 3rd year she smiled and shook her head. Many a time, she had to wake him up after changing.

Softly she tip-toed past him and to the showers for a quick two-minute hose down. She dared not take longer just incase her senpai did wake up. Wrapped in a large fluffy towel (the ones provided by the school weren't big enough to sufficiently…ahem…cover her) she made way towards her locker. She had, on the very first day, picked the one with the softest click when it closed. True it didn't very often stay secure, but who cared, she didn't have much to steal anyhow.

Over the years, she learned to change quickly and only three minutes were lost before she was buttoning the topmost button of her white dress shirt.

"Wow five minutes, pretty fast." Fingers froze on the soft smooth fabric. "You must have had lots of practice."

"……Senpai?"

The blonde swung his legs off the couch (yes people there is a couch in their locker room) and approached his kouhai.

"How long has it been since you actually wore a girl's uniform to school?" He inquired as he leaned on the neighboring locker and watched as the girl continued to dress. Her face looked calm, but he saw her nervousness when her fingers fumbled on the buttons of the blazer.

"Akutagawa-san…" she started.

"No really I'd like to know. Since when? Elementary school?"

"Never." She replied as she wrapped the red tie around her throat. "I've never been in a girl's uniform. The first elementary school I went to didn't require uniforms. After the fourth grade. I became a boy."

"Why though?" He persisted. "Certainly not because you don't look good in one. You would you know….with ribbons in your hair. Why would you want to be a boy?"

"Senpai." She said at last. "I know you're not completely unfamiliar with the business field. I'm sure you can see why it was necessary for me to become a boy if I was ever needed to fill in for any position. For the charade to be convincing, you obviously need witnesses, that's where you guys come in."

"But that's not all is it?" He asked almost innocently, but his doe like brown eyes bore deeply into hers.

For a moment Tsukino lost her breath.

For years, she had tried her best to dodge around Oshitari, Taki, and Atobe, utterly convinced that aside from those three, no one else could see through her. Hiyoshi watched her like a snake, but ever from a distance, never close enough to figure her out. Mukahi was far too occupied with himself to notice the little details that could have given her away (no personal offense to him of course). Shishido had seldom looked her way before this year so he concerned her no further than a model, one to watch and learn from.

She would have never guess that Jirou, sweet, agreeable, sleepy Akutagawa Jirou was Hyoutei's real guard dog, though now it became obvious. Jirou was always there, seemingly in slumber, but he was always the first one in the club room and the last one out of it. So many times had she tip-toe around the volley specialist, and received no reaction, that she had gotten careless when no one save him was around. Now that she was face to face with the genius himself, she found out she couldn't lie to him. He would know.

"I did it for power." She told him. "At first, it was because of the company but after that day, I did it for power and to get your buchou to recognize me…"

**Flashback**

"**Hametsu e no Rondo!" One Atobe Keigo finished off his opponent, a high school student. "That is ore-sama's last match right?"**

"**Not quite." A little boy who couldn't be more than twelve stepped forward. "I'm here too."**

**The older boy raised an eyebrow. His expression said something along the lines of 'you gotta be kidding me'. **

"**Ore-sama finds no pleasure in bullying children." He waved dismissively and turned away.**

"**HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME STUPID MONKEY FACE!" The little one shouted.**

"**What did you call ore-sama?" the older boy glared at the one that was two years his junior.**

"**You heard me monkey face." The younger taunted. "The deal was that you have to beat every guy here if you wanna date nee-san over there. By the looks of it, I don't think you're done. Or are you backing out?"**

"**Fine Ore-sama was going to let you off unscathed but it looks like you're not smart enough to accept my generous offer. Kabaji hand me my racket." **

**End Flashback**

"…long story short, he completely pulverized me 6 games to 1." Tsukino sighed and wrung her tie between her fingers in an agitated manner. "I am attracted to power senpai, all types of power, and what I hate most is feeling powerless, exactly like I did when I was crushed that day on the street courts. Before I had thought that I could find strength only in martial arts, and tennis had been a fun side activity that I did because I could. But he taught me otherwise. _He_ showed me that tennis was power too, one that I'll have to work to get. And someday, someday, I'll beat Atobe-buchou, and I'll be one step farther away from ever being over whelmed ever again."

"There are people better than Atobe Keigo in the world of tennis you know." The blonde reasoned. The girl shrugged.

"There's not much chance of me ever meeting them in a court after high school ne?" She said dismissively. "So do you want me to take my stuff home now or can I wait 'til Monday to clear out?"

"Whoa hasty, hasty." He smiled. "Who said I was going to tattletale?"

"There's a reason for you not to?" She inquired searching his eyes with hers.

"Of course." He patted her head and leaned down close to her ear. "A senpai has to take care of their kouhai right?"

"Name your price." She sighed gloomily.

"Don't sound so harsh ne chibi-chan." He took his hand from her hair and waved both palms in front of him. "It's not so much a price as say…a favor for your sweet senpai. I want you to meet me at the south exit of Shibuya station tomorrow. Dress nice."

He turned and hoisted his bag to his shoulders. Suddenly, Akutagawa Jirou was a lot taller, a lot older, and a lot more devious in Tsukino's eyes. His smile now hinted the steely glint characteristic of Rikkai Dai's Petenshi.

"But Aku…" She started to speak but was cut off by Jirou who was also knotting the infernal tie around her neck for her.

"Hush, " he whispered and put a forefinger to her lips. "Your sweet as sugar Jikkun-senpai was asleep when you came in remember? He asked you for a favor after you woke him up. You said yes so he's going to expect you at Shibuya's south exit at noon tomorrow."

And with that he exited the scene with a smug expression that wouldn't have been out of place on Atobe's face.

---scene change---

Rei looked around tentatively as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. For this occasion it had been tamed with a curling iron into soft waves more or less resembling Yukimura's and streaked with blue. Her clothes were simple but elegant, (picked out for her by her grandfather's personal maid). The white turtleneck was starkly contrasted with the dark purple quilted vest of figure Venetian velvet. Dark jean shorts began after the large assortment of different belts in black and silver. Her right leg was in its usual leg warmer, her left wrist in its normal wristband. The over all effect was almost androgynous.

Hopefully, she won't be recognized.

"Sorry am I late?"

Nope. No chance of that happening.

"Hey chibi-chan," he greeted as he ran up. The blonde shocked her once again, this time with his outrageous attire. Normally, Akutagawa Jirou sported a cutely rumple appearance like he's just rolled out of bed and looked just out of place in a suit. Today however, he donned a suit jacket in midnight blue and back slacks. His shirt was the color of a tropical ocean and made of a smooth glossy silk. His hair was as curly as always, but a lot neater. And his tie was pure silver. The lazy smile on his face would have made even Oshitari Yuushi green with envy.

"No, you're still early." She managed to say when she regained her voice.

He chuckled slightly.

"Like what you see?" He asked playfully. "Come on, follow me."

"Wait, where are we going?" She shouted as he grabbed her hand and began weaving through the crowd towards the exit.

"Our ride." He explained just as a Mercedes Benz came to a stop. A man who looked like he was in his mid-forties stepped out and opened the back door for them. Nodding his acknowledgement Jirou pulled her in. "To Matsumoto-san if you don't mind."

---scene change---

Jirou examined the girl sitting next to him, swinging her legs and looking out the window. He wasn't quite sure what made him look twice at her. Of course, she was cute, but so what? Many people fell into that category. She was abnormally short of a fifteen year-old, but that wasn't exactly a flattering quality.

Maybe it was the gender confusion.

Yes that must be it. She interested him because he had never seen someone like her before. She was very cute, and yet, her face was not particularly effeminate. She had a lovely figure, and yet, only very slight curves, the kind that couldn't be easily distinguished unless her clothes fit almost perfectly. Her movements were always fluid and graceful, but she lacked elegance. In fact, her appearance was all practical (except for the figured velvet which Jirou figured she didn't choose for herself in the first place). No motion is ever completely wasted, no clothing impeding any movement what so ever, simply put; there was not one extra thing on her body. Everything had a use.

Jirou had grown up in a world of excess and meaningless frivolity, where appearance, despite its impracticality, meant everything. However, it was a familiar world where Jirou was allowed to trust his first instinct. Tennis, schoolwork, dealing with his friends and classmates, everything he did was on his first impulse, and fairly accurately. His classmates, though they changed now and again, they were always the same type of people that he could split neatly into one of several categories. The last problem he had was Shishido, but slowly the other boy too fell into a familiar category.

This girl did not fall into a single category, not even Shishido's.

He was spending time with her because, when faced with a person of almost machine-like efficiency, he could not react properly. She did not make sense to him, and yet, she could not be ignored. The only thing left to do was to make her more comprehensible. Jirou acted on impulse. When dealing with Tsukino Rei, he had none. So he was going to keep her by his side until he could cultivate an automatic reaction to this intrusion into his once pleasantly monotonic existence.

Then maybe he could allow himself to fully sleep again.

---scene change---

"Matsumoto-san." The blonde boy pushed open the door to a simple yet elegant boutique. Elegance, there was that word again. Elegance, something Tsukino either did not posses or no longer possessed. Maybe putting her in an environment that oozed it might make her a little more familiar to him.

"Ah Akutagawa-kun, how are you?" A beautiful woman swept out of the back of the shop. She was dressed fashionably in a black off-the-shoulders dress that went down to her ankles but had a slit up to her knees. "How may I help you today?"

"My friend," he said and gestured to Tsukino who was still hovering at the doorway. "Needs a new outfit……and maybe a lesson or two in poise. I couldn't think of any one else Matsumoto-san who could match your excellent taste."

"Oh how sweet," she smiled winningly at her new project. "Hm, nice face, good figure, a little on the hsort side, but that could be used ot our advantage. What does she normally look good in?"

"Well," he smiled sheepishly. "I've never actually seen her in anything other than her school uniform……and the tennis outfit."

"Oh heavens, really?" The lady inquired as if the fact was _that_ astonishing. "Well, tell me, how long are her skirts usually?"

"Well, I've never seen anything above her knees, not even during gym class."

And Matsumoto-san whisked Tsukino off to the back of the shop. Jirou followed at a more leisurely pace. He settled himself in a couch as he waited.

It took nearly twenty Minutes, and Jirou had to fight to keep his eyes open. He wondered whaton earth was takign so long. Normally it took about 10 minutes for Matsumoto-san to snatch up a few thigns that would look _'absolutely darling' _on him.

"Come on honey, you look perfectly precious." Matsumoto's voice finally cooed and shook Jirou from his stupor. It looked like she needed a little help. "Come on, don't be so shy."

"Aw chibi-chan." He crooned lovingly as he walked over. "I went through hall this trouble to see you in a real dress. You could at least come out and show your Jikkun-senpai how cute you are."

"But…"

"Sweetheart." His voice took a just a slight threatening note. Like how a mother would caution her child against angering her further. It seemed to work, as slowly the girl appeared from behind the screen.

Matsumoto leaned back smiling smugly.

Tsukino blushed and suddenly became very angry at the floor.

And Jirou?

He had tears glittering in his eyes. He bit his lip to keep in the laughter.

It was so cute! It was so cute it was _funny!_

There stood Tsukino Rei in all her glory in a baby blue dress with a high waistline. Frothy white lace bubbled from beneath the blue fabric just above her knees and wrapped itself around her shoulders imitating sleeves. Her hair was pinned up and clipped in place with barrettes decorated with the same white lace and so were the socks on her feet that disappeared into a pair of glossy black MaryJanes.

He felt like hugging her right then and there she was so adorable! Only…

"Aw why the pouty face?"

Rei seriously wondered if this was some perfectly planned out punishment on Jirou's part. The clothes were nice, cure, she could admit that. But they were far from comfortable.

No it wasn't that they were particularly itchy or tight. On the whole, she could probably wear them without strangling herself. However, Rei was still a true blue street rat at heart, and she still looked at ti with the critical eyes of someone who needed to survive.

The dress was too frilly and the skirt was too full, liable to catch on sharp edges of crates and buildings. The fabric was far too light in color and made for an easy target. There were no shorts under this thing and unless you were okay with showing your underclothes to the world you couldn't jump or run, or, well, anything. Actually, you couldn't run anyway because of the stupid MaryJanes.

The rest of the hour was similarly torturous.

Jirou had seen plenty of fake smiles in his life time, it came with being privileged. So he could tell when his kouhai plastered on that mask of false happiness.

It kind of hurt to be honest, especially when he had no idea why.

Matsumoto-san, though a very touchy-feely person, was an absolute genius in fashion. Each and every outfit had been inhumanly cute. Naturally he was going to pay for all of it, because he was the one who dragged her here. Any girl in her right mind would be in heaven by now. It can't be blamed on taste because Tsukino had run the gambit of dresses, and yet seems to like nothing.

Suddenly she came up to him by herself this time in a burgundy colored dress, with frills around the chest and flounces upon flounces upon flounces upon flounces of delicate crimson lace. The elegant shop keeper was no where in sight, probably hunting through her many articles of clothing in the storage room. Apparently, Matsumoto also saw her customer's dissatisfaction and now had committed herself to finding the perfect outfit (she had never, since the beginning of her career, failed to find the perfect attire for anyone before and she wasn't about to throw in the towel now).

"Jirou-senpai." She said and looked his straight in the eye. "I'm eternally grateful that you care enough to take me shopping but really I don't think this is going work out. I just can't bring myself to wear this sort of stuff."

"Care to explain why?" He prodded and gestured for her to sit down. "You have to understand Tsukino-chan." He leaned back onto the soft leather. "I don't get you. Each one of those outfits were adorable, very few girls can pull it off. You look so good in so many things, and yet…you don't like them, not a single one."

She bit her bottom lip before answering.

"They're not practical, for what I do for who I am." She spoke no longer looking at him. "I feel suffocated in them senpai, restrained and unable to perform to my function."

"Your function? A bit dull if you ask me." He sighed. "Don't you ever want to wander outside of duty? Don't you want to look pretty, just because, even if it doesn't fulfill a so-called function?"

"Tennis is outside my function." She pointed out. "I do my wandering in a world of physical prowess. Improvement of strength, speed, flexibility, that is when I wander from my function. As for looking pretty, yes once in a while, I would like to look in the mirror and see an actual girl, but even with make-up or a dress, my own gender is difficult for me to believe. I like the clothes well enough, and I thank you for introducing me to them. However, they're the types of things I'll only wear, a lone in my room, maybe for two or three minutes. It is impractical to buy something so expensive for such a frivolous reason."

"Practical and impractical, is that all life is to you?" He asked. "Can you look straight at me and tell me that?"

"Of course not." She smiled, this time it had an unfamiliar bitterness to it. "I'm chasing after the king of the is gambit. That's not practical."

Jirou sighed and got up. He should find Matsumoto-san and apologize for taking up so much of her time.

"Sorry." She whispered as she pulled at her collar.

"No it's fine." He smiled back at her and ran a hand through his hair, leaving the curls as fluffy and messily cute as they ever were. It made him look so much more friendly.

"Thanks senpai." She smiled too, really this time. Then she pulled on the collar again. "...do you think it would ruin the point of this dress if i were to take out all the lace?"

The blonde was left speechless.

"What?" Tsukino blinked adorably. "Lace gets caught on table edges, stray hooks, those little pebbles on the walls... I can't even film in this. My equipment will stick to the dress and...why are you laughing?"

Jirou couldn't help himself. He was boiling over with the ridiculousness of it all.

"Hahahahaha so hahahaha cute, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha." laughter rippled from inside his heart and through his throat. "You're not suppose to do anything while your wearing these hehe. And yes, taking off the lace would completely kill the whole point of this dress."

"Darn." She plucked at one of the flounces. "It's such a nice color too."

"How about this." Matsumoto-san (who had been listenign the whole time) stepped out with a mock-kimono in hand. "You should have said something darling, I had so many of these."

Jirou burst into another peal of laughter.


	8. in which Hiyoshi swears off parks

"You can see Hyoutei from here!" An excited voice exclaimed.

Well that voice must have some killer eye sight because Jirou certainly couldn't see anything that remotely resembled Hyoutei. Still he squinted trying to discern it from the cluster of buildings that was the rest of Tokyo.

"Jirou-senpai?" The voice asked. He turned his attention to the little girl standing next to him. She was pointing at one of those big binoculars that the tower rented for 50 yen per 10 minutes. An amused smile appeared on her face as she stepped down and offered him her position at the eye pieces.

Obviously, with the telescope, you really could see Hyoutei from Tokyo Tower even through all the gray and brown smog hovering close to the ground. Jirou too smiled as he took his gaze from the sight of his school barely discernable through the polluted atmosphere of the big city. Luckily they were up pretty high. the pollution wasn't really that bad up here.

And Tsukino seems to like it. At the moment she was trying to tempt a few birds with a handful of peanuts. Leaning as far on the raling as she could possibly reach, she nearly blended with the sky.

Oh, he had persuaded her to buy two dresses. One of which he had also managed to cajole her into wearing. It was the sky blue one with the lacy white trim. There was a soft smile on her face, vastly different from the confident smirk she wore most of the time. It changed her face completely.

"So, a girl after all," he found himself whispering. "But only when happy."

**---Scene Change---**

They were now walking through Jirou's favorite park. It wasn't particularly big or famous, but it was pretty enough. It was also the most serene and peaceful place Jirou knew.

He gradually fell behind her and watched as she wandered around the rainbow of flowers planted along the walkway. Still she was always wary of him, and never once left his line of sight.

This is how it should be, Jirou thought. She looked wrong normally, always with that note book in hand, always sneaking around, always so unaturally efficient, so conservative, always jealously calculating and recalculatign every move. It shouldn't be like that.

Jirou sat down on the first bench they came across. He was tired, not having sletp since midnight last night.

But it was worth every minute. He thought to himself. Today had been......enlightening.

She was walking back now framed in all her glory by the beaultiful scenery. He was glad she had allowed him to catch a glimse of her other side. Still, he only allowed his eyes to succumb to slumber when she was settled down beside him.

---Scene Change---

Hiyoshi had no idea what possessed him to come ot the neighborhood park today. He never came here. There was no reason to. He could always find a quiet relaxing enviroment at home if he wished to meditate or practice martial arts. It only had one path through which he could run or jog. This place didn't even have a tennis court. All the same, he found himself wandering the long way home from spending the day window shopping. He hadn't managed to find anything interesting he could wrap and call a present, so he was not in the best of moods.

Maybe that was why. The park provided relief for his eyes and a nice pocket of fresh air in the middle of all that pollution.

He did not expect to run into his senpai using some random girl as a pillow. Funny she seemed slightly frozen.

For a moment, Hiyoshi thought he recognized her from somewhere, maybe someone he saw on the street. But on closer inspection, she was completely unfamiliar.

No, wait, that wasn't entirely true. Her facial contruction was like that of his brat kouhai, same cheek bones, eye shape, cute button nose........wait where did that come from? Button nose, yes. Cute?

Hiyoshi called up a picture of the smirking brat in his mind. Cute? No, not him. She was though, very cute, especially when she was so flustered. Jirou senpai, as dead as he is to the surrounding world, probably had no idea how much grief he was giving his......date? Wow, that was unexpected. Who would have thought someone liek Jirou could nab a girl?

Hiyoshi figured he should rescue her anyway.

"You'll have to forgive him, he does that often." Hiyoshi moved over and propped the sleeping blond back onto the back of the bench. "Not his fault really, he's a narcoleptic."

"I noticed," she smiled. She was cute when she smiled too, Hiyoshi decided.

"I could drag him home for you if you want," he offered. "You'll stay till sunset at this rate."

"I'd better not leave him though." She answered. "Better make sure the date's over first. It's the least I could do. He's the one who bought me this dress."

"Really?" Hiyoshi was learning something new everyday. He would have never thought that Jirou senpai, messy, sleepy, unaware, Jirou senpai would have any sense in fashion. Then again, he would have never pegged Jirou senpai as the type to go on dates either. He just seems too detatched for that.

"Un" As she said that Jirou fell into her lap. She laughed slightly. "I need to at least thank him. He's stayed awake with me for 4 hours. Besides, I don't really mind I've had to wait longer for things."

"Longer?" Hiyoshi raised an eyebrow. "For what dare I ask?"

"Ever gotten a perm?" She asked innocently.

"No, why?" Something told Hiyoshi to put on his guard. At that moment, she reached up and took a lock of his hair between her thumb and forefinger.

"Your hair is very straight for hair so thick." The girl commented. "And an unusual color. Are you sure you've never had a perm?"

Hiyoshi stared. Then he stared some more. Then he stared even more at that sweet innocent angelic little smile. This girl was evil. He decided. But then again, who was he to judge?

--scene change---

"Wake up sleepy head"Jirou tried to batt the offending hand away. He was tired darn it, and a tired Jirou was not a very happy Jirou at all.

"Jirou!" AkutagawaYumiko sighed as she tried once again to wake her only son. "At least wake up long enough to tell this young lady good bye."

Blinking, he sat up. Jirou faintly registered being on the bench when he fell asleep. Why was he in a limo now?

"A little lost?" Tsukino smiled from outside the window. "You mother stumbled on us when she went for a walk in the park. I'm going home now."

"Oh sorry." he smiled sheepishly. "So I'll see you Monday"

"Sure," she turned to walk away. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight. And don't worry my lips are sealed, even if I don't understand why."

"Thank you." And Jirou watched as she disappeared into the setting sun. He felt happy, he decided. He wasn't sure why, or of what, but he was pleased. As his eyes closed once more, the blonde planned their next outing together.


	9. Frozen to the Heart

I am sincerely sorry for the lack of updates, ideas were just not flowing. Any way here it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

**Hajimari**

"Game Taki, 5 games to 4!"

Taki's breath came out in harsh pants as he glared at the boy across the net.

Damn the kid was persistent. All through the match, he had been hard pressed to keep his lead. Every time he picked up the pace, the little freshman did too. It was a terrible feeling. He couldn't let himself slip even a bit. If he did, the little wolf snapping at his heels would run him down and tear him to pieces.

His thoughts were further affirmed by the inhuman smile on the boy's face. It was eager to pursue him, all animal, and no thought. It was the smile of something that knew no weariness, no end. Taki knew that he would be hunted by this boy until Tsukino himself fell beneath Taki's own hand.

"Game Tsukino, 5 games all!"

Of course, that was easier said than done.

Taki had once undermined his kouhai's achievements as merely half-baked imitations, a jack-of-all-trades-a-master-of-none deal. He thought that if he could recognize who the boy was copying at the time, he would be able to counter anything thrown at him. He was grievously wrong.

Tsukino Reiki was possibly the most dangerous thing that could have happened to Yukimatsuri. The boy was completely unpredictable and stunningly adaptable. He stuck to no one style. There was no pattern at all to his play. It was as if he wasn't even thinking as he played, as if everything he did was on the fly, without any regard for past actions or future possibilities. But against Taki, whose strategy depended upon accurate presumptions about his opponent, it was effective, maybe more so than anyone could realize.

Taki gasped as his most recent smash was returned by the freshman's version of _Higuma Otoshi_. He had not known _that_ was part of the other boy's arsenal, although, of course, it must have been. He had been watching them all for a long time. Why should Oshitari be any exception? Heck, if he had even recorded Taki's information, there was no telling who else was scribed down in those notebooks.

"Game Tsukino, 6 games to 5!"

How the hell did that happen? He can't let some freshman beat him!

Oh how he would love to wipe that smirk of the younger boy's face. It was the exact twin of Atobe's, and yet, Atobe has never annoyed him this much.

"I-k..."

Tsukino threw the little green ball into the air and pulled back his upper body until he was practically doubled over back wards in a very familiar stance.

"Kyuu..."

Fearing the worst Taki ran quite a ways behind the baseline. Even though it was highly improbable that his kouhai had the kind of strength needed for Ohtori's signature move; well let's just say he also fooled himself into believing that the freshman could not use Higuma Otoshi. Just look at where that got him. Besides, he did not trust the crazy glint he saw within those violet eyes. At this point he had no idea what Tsukino would or would not attempt.

"Nyuu.."

Taki trained his slightly panicked but still closely calculating eyes on the way that lithe little body snapped up.

...But then met the ball surprisingly gently. Realizing his mistake, Taki immediately started forward. For a moment it looked as if he was going to make it.

The ball hit the ground and barely bounced. Even a rising shot would do him no good now.

"Psyche," the raven haired boy taunted…No, almost taunted. Tsukino would never be so rude as to openly taunt an upperclassman. The innocent smile and unassuming way with which he said everything cut so much worse than simple jeers would have. The worst part was that you couldn't get angry at him for it. Indeed Tsukino himself didn't even seem to realize how hurtful his mannerisms were.

He served again, this time normally.

Taki found it nearly impossible to stay calm. He returned the shot perhaps with more force than he should have.

Tsukino was however, slowing down, to his relief. Good, the kid was losing stamina, and with that, momentum.

Taki felt a wave of relief…and then alarm.

Why was he relieved? He wasn't playing Atobe, or Jirou, or Shishido, or even Gakuto! He was playing a non-regular; a FRESHMAN non-regular who shouldn't have been able to push him this far.

Gritting his teeth, he batted an aggressive drive.

"Game Taki, 6 games all, tie-break!"

Taki allowed himself to relax. It was over. The other boy couldn't have enough left to play a tie-break. Even now, Tsukino was barely catching his attacks.

Coldly, Taki moved in for the kill.

…And was burned. His finishing shot, the one that should have landed the final point, flashed at the edge of his vision a mere second before striking the chain link fence with a foreboding rattle. The smile was back; that calculating smile, so cruel in its confidence, so unlike the joyful intoxication the boy had worn before.

Tsukino had fooled him, led him by the nose. Now he saw it.

The freshman had played such a reckless, unthinking game; so reckless Taki had assumed that the boy did not, could not have had a steady plan. Then he gave such close pursuit that Taki had no time to stop and see the trap that was slowly being built around him. It was not simply a matter of underestimation. The older boy had been trapped like a rat, shut up with walls of trepidation, the foundations of which was laid the very moment the boy returned his first serve, that rose around him and obscured his surroundings. He was tangled in his own prejudices, all of which sprouted to strangle him.

"Game, set, and match! Winner: …Tsukino…"

Taki felt peculiarly removed as he watched the reactions of those around him. The non-regulars gaped, their faces seeming frozen in disbelief.

Gakuto had his eyes in a hard stare occasionally flitting to Taki, but usually trained on their newest regular.

His doubles partner was devoid of expression, but from the glint in his eyes Taki knew that Hiyoshi would not be letting this one out of his sight. The enbu tennis player now recognized that Tsukino Reiki was exactly like him; ambitious, brilliant, and just a touch insane. In other words, the boy sought, too, to supplant him.

Oshitari, Taki was surprised he had shown up. Selection matches did not warrant the school newspaper. The gears were cranking behind those glasses as assumptions were being destroyed, hypotheses thrown out and reformed, and information updated.

Shishido's eyes were narrowed, showing that his thoughts ran along similar lines.

Choutarou's face was by far the most interesting one. In it Taki saw a myriad of emotions: pride because his kouhai had been able to get into the regulars; pity for Taki who should have won; a bit of horror probably be cause he, like most of the others, had not believed that the boy was capable of such twisted play, though probably more out of his affection for Tsukino than underestimation; but there was no surprise. He had expected this. He had expected Tsukino to win. This Taki mulled over. Definitely, Choutarou was not unaware of the kind of skill his young friend was capable of.

Jirou was likewise unfazed. He had known! Jirou had known all along, or at least; he expected it, maybe even before the silver haired doubles player realized it; because strangely, like Choutarou, he was proud if the smile was any indication. It was one of arrogance, though; slight enough to go unnoticed to anyone without Taki's sharp eyes. As if, in some way, it had been he who had given Tsukino that strength. It was as if, he had raised her. Unlike Choutarou however, he held no palliative sentiments towards Taki.

If there was one thing readily apparent about the heir of the massive Akutagawa electronics conglomerate, it was this. He was fascinated with power, with the unattainable, the untouchable. Whenever he caught of even a possibility of such potential, he paid rapt attention. Now, for instance, there was no room for Taki in his eyes. Yet, it was more soothing than, perhaps, it should have been. Jirou didn't hold anything for or against the defeated. They were simply defeated.

Atobe's face was behind his mask of ice. There was no reading it.

"Good game," Taki grudgingly found himself saying as he and Tsukino shook hands. "You were great."

"No Taki-senpai," he smiled softly, apologetically, "You were great."

That baby face was a baby face once more, with no trace of the former cruelty remaining.

---Scene change---

Jirou couldn't help but grin like a Cheshire cat. He had to remember to thank Taki at some point. The former regular had broken, if only briefly through her impeccable mask though he wasn't aware of it.

Jirou hadn't missed that.

His little girl; yes his little girl, because unlike anyone else, he had known; was so beautiful, so beautiful, it was surprising, almost sad, that he hadn't been able to see it until now. The kind of potential, possibility and, more importantly, _power _that she wielded, it was just unreal_._

She lacked experience, yes, but she had such incredibly destructive strength and she was nearly merciless in its use. There was very little she would not do to fulfill her purpose. That was one of her best traits, in his opinion. That was why he was so dreadfully fond of her. It was seldom that he saw ruthlessness, ambition, talent, and cunning concentrated into one person. The only one he knew personally was Atobe Keigo; the next closest in vicinity: Yukimura Seichi and his successor the little devil boy. The last one to his knowledge was the fledgling prodigy of Seigaku. No others were so talented. No others were so vicious.

Most people had only one trait. Some special ones had two. For instance Oshitari was talented and ruthless, but he had little ambition preferring to take things as they come. Hiyoshi was ambitious, and ruthless, but he lacked the natural talent that presented itself in a true genius. Marui Bunta of Rikkai was one of the rare people with three of these traits which made Jirou regard him so highly, though the self-proclaimed genius was far from ruthless.

Jirou himself knew that, though he could be cunning and ruthless, most definitely he had great ambitions; he just didn't have the kind of talent he admired. He was good, but that was all.

---Scene change---

Atobe was completely torn on the inside. There was such an important decision to make here.

On the one hand, he would lose Taki, the informer he had trusted for a long time. He would also be upsetting the entire hierarchy of the tennis club. Worse, he would risk the stability of the team by changing members as well as risk the competence of the freshman by bloating his ego.

On the other hand, he would be breaking his own code by not demoting Taki to the status of a non-regular. True, he had gone back on his word before, but Shishido had earned his return to the team. Taki hadn't. As it was, Taki was the most expendable person on the team right now. And though he could lose a trusted information gatherer, he would definitely get in return a very effective data master as well as a potentially dangerous player on his side.

Besides, he could also risk hurting the boy's enthusiasm and maybe endangering the future generation. Anyway, if Tsukino was to take over, it would be better for him to be used to the regular's training schedule. It might also teach the boy some measure of respect.

But frankly, he didn't like the boy. That was the main problem. He couldn't bring himself to be objective concerning this matter. There was just something wrong, something very very wrong with this little usurper. There was somehtign about the freshman that alienated people even as he drew them in, and Atobe didn't know if it could make or break the the team...orhim.

...But then again there wasn't really much of a choice; was there?

"Oresama expects you to be here at 6:30 tomorrow for morning practice, understood?"

"Hai, buchou."


	10. The winds of change

"Taki," the ice king inclined his head to acknowledge his newly arrived club member. Taki closed the door to the coach's office and joined Atobe the oak desk. He gave a short bow to his captain.

"Buchou," Taki began hesitantly, "Though I may sound ungrateful, I don't think….that is…there should not be 9 regulars. We aren't Seigaku and…."

"Taki," Atobe sighed, "Ore-sama is not going to go against his own decision, worry not. Actually, there is a favor I need to ask of you. Come take a seat."

Intrigued, Taki sat himself in the chair opposite the gray haired senior. The Yukimatsuri captain didn't often drop his peculiar speech habit.

"What do you think of the brat?" Atobe asked. His eyes bore into his old friend's. "As a person, I believe perhaps you are the only one in this team who has an accurate account of our usurper. I trust you have gathered much from your match with him. Don't rush. Take you time and analyze like you are so good at doing. Here have some water."

Taki fell silent as he accepted the ice cold bottle Atobe handed him fresh from the mini fridge inside the club office. Taki took a small sip as he gazed down at his hands, his mind whirling like a computer. Almost painfully he recalled the events of earlier that afternoon, walking through his last game as a regular step by step. His blood froze in his veins.

"He's cold," the green hair boy finally whispered with a shudder. "Tsukino, he's a good kid…normally…but he's cold, so cold…and just as cruel."

"Cruel? Is that all?" the gray haired teenager repeated, his eyes narrowing a bit, "Well, it is not surprising. I suppose, with the way the club is structured, we do foster something of the sort. In fact it is only to be expected…"

"NO!" Taki's very nearly hysterical voice cracked in the tense air. "It's not the same thing Atobe. You and I, the other club members, we are different. Hyoutei is a very competitive, self-serving school. It's full of ambitious people who will vie for the top while cutting losses be they friends or whatever. We are the wolves of business. That is how we are."

Taki took a deep breath so calm down.

"Tsukino…Tsukino, he's fundamentally different. Couldn't you feel it, Atobe? He's completely different. He's…he's not malicious in his cruelty. It's not a methodical thought process that eliminates weakness, or appeal to strength…no. It's all instinctual; he is cruel automatically because he _is_. Perhaps he isn't even conscious of it. He's like – I don't know – like a forced of nature, a snowstorm, I would guess. People don't matter to him. As long as he has a goal to focus his attentions on, everything else ceases to matter; his teammates, his opponents, whatever. It's as if we're all numbers and figures in a homework problem he wants done as quickly as possible. Whatever happens to get in his way; too bad. If you're smart enough to stay out you don't be destroyed. It's all the same to him when he wants something badly enough. " Taki took a moment to breathe before he continued. "And the scary part is…he's really not such a bad person when you take him out of that context. He's such a good boy. What could have happened to him, I wonder, to make him like that?"

Taki halted abruptly. He averted his tired eyes. Atobe too said nothing, but took a sip from his own, now only mildly cool water. The young captain looked out the nearby window for a bit, to collect his thoughts maybe, before he regarded his old friend.

"Watch after him, Taki…closely. There is something about Tsukino Reiki that leaves a bitter feeling in my mouth. I do hope I'm just being unreasonably paranoid, but at least I will rest easier once I know I'm wrong," Atobe finally said, his voice carefully neutral though there was a conviction beneath it that was very persuasive indeed. Suddenly a sad, regretful smile stole across his handsome face. "He really isn't a bad child, is he?"

"No Buchou," Taki replied shaking his head. He too bore a sad smile. "I can't say that he is."

-Scene Change—

"Tsunawatari!" the red-haired girl stood back with a smirk as the neon green ball rolled along the top of the net and dropped off neatly just inside the white lines of the tennis court. Her opponent, a being whose gender is practically indistinguishable, cursed.

"Ah! Damn it, I give it!" Tsukino growled as she threw her hands into the air. "That move is impossible!

She stomped off the smooth green concrete of the court over to her bag on a nearby bench. They had been at this for hours and still she had been unable to learn the self-proclaimed tensai's infamous Tight Rope Walk.

"Oh come now, it's not impossible," the red-head chuckled, "At least not for a genius like me."

She was a very pretty girl, with shoulder length blood red hair and large expressive lavender eyes. Her slender frame was covered by an old but well-beloved and familiar yellow jersey bearing Rikkai Dai's stylized R. For once it was paired with a black tennis skirt instead of the white shorts.

"But Marui-senpai!" the younger girl whined. "How do you even get the ball to follow the net? It can't support a tennis ball; and anyway it keeps moving and makes the ball bounce weird."

"It's music, chibi-chan!" she laughed. "The net waving, it's like music isn't it? It dances to it's own rhythm, and all you have to do is hit exactly the right notes to make a miracle."

"You do realize," the younger girl grumbled annoyed. "No matter how many times you say that, it doesn't help me in the slightest.

Suddenly a large tan hand pressed a cold can of juice against Tsukino's cheek effectively cutting her off.

"Tsk, tsk, you oughta know by now Tsuki-chin," a playful male voiced chided, "Bun-bun here is a music major. You shouldn't expect her to speak human!"

The red-head smacked him in the back of the head with her racket. "Shut Up idiot Haru!"

The silver haired boy laughed playfully as he raised his arms to fend of the blows of his irate companion. In a stunning display of flexibility, Masaharu Niou managed to avoid both his girlfriend's racket and her fist to place and affectionate kiss on her forehead. She promptly blushed and pointedly turned away from him. However, Niou heard no protest when he gathered the smaller figure into his arms and bade her sit down with him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he apologized before turning back to his kouhai. "It's a nasty bit of math. You need to take into account both wave motion _and_ wind interference. Not even the great Niou-sama before you has quite managed it exactly right. On the other hand for living music boxes like this woman here, even though her arithmetic skills leave much to be desired-ow!"

"Baka Haru!" she smacked him again.

"You're so mean to me!" Niou whined with a mock pout. "Anyway for people who live an breathe music like her, wave motion is something she takes note of almost instinctually. We mere mortals simply do not possess the necessary inner eye – ah, Setsubun!"

"Shut up, you deserve it!" the slighted tensai insisted. For the moment, the petenshi wisely decided to abandon his attempts of placating the furious female and began to run for his well being, laughing merrily. It was a while before Setsubun gave up and returned to her friend. For her part, Tsukino had pulled her notebook out and was writing furiously, only pausing to type in a few numbers on a calculator she had also brought.

"And Tsukino, I did tell you that my name never really was Marui Bunta, no?" the older girl asked as she tried to pummel her former teammate from afar via tennis balls. No good, Niou was too damn fast.

"Yeah but Maruichi-senpai sounds so weird," Tsukino insisted. "Any you prefer Marui, don't deny it."

"Maybe," Marui sang. When she noticed Tsukino tugging impatiently at her Yukimatsuri uniform, Setsubun's face grew grave. "How are your chest pains, are they very bad?"

It was a moment before the raven haired girl replied: "Not so bad. Don't worry. I always leave plenty of breathing room. That and I'm still not as…ahem," she gestured to the older girl's chest, "…as you were back then."

A blush colored Marui's cheeks. It was true. Marui Bunta, Maruichi Setsubun, had been a prodigious B cup when she had stopped binding her chest and she had only grown since then (a fact that delighted Niou). All of a sudden, Tsukino's notebook and calculator were tugged away, courtesy of a petenshi who had finally deemed it safe to return. When his young friend went after it, he held both items high above his head.

"That's enough studying for one day, pipsqueak," he scolded, smiling, "It's Sunday. We're three young, free, and sinfully attractive teenagers. We should be out on the town, partying!"

Shaking her head at her boy friend's antics, Setsubun none the less gathered her stuff together.

"Come on," she smiled at Tsukino, "let's get lunch. Niou's buying."

"Hey what?" was the distressed yelp of one about to be broke trickster.

-scene change—

Taki came to the early morning regular's practice deep in thought, Atobe's latest assignment plaguing his mind. He wasn't entirely sure how to go about doing it. Sure, normally the younger freshman was friendly enough, but he wasn't looking for how Tsukino acted normally. He was looking for that something that worried Atobe. He was now, once again, posing manager of Yukimatsuri. He was very early, hoping to get some time to think as he warmed up, but once out on the court he realized he was not the first one.

Unsurprisingly, Jirou was there curled up on a bench…Had it not been only Saturday that Atobe had called him in to chat he would have wondered if Jirou had stayed at school all through Sunday just to sleep…. It wasn't that far-fetched a thought.

However what really shocked him was Tsukino who was running suicide drills on the near-by court. The state of his clothes and windblown hair was evidence that he had been there for a while.

"A tad early to be up isn't it?" Taki asked, unable to keep a chilly bite out of his tone. He barely held back the urge to laugh when the boy in the purple cap looked up and promptly stumbled over himself comically. The subsequent smile that broke over the younger's face made Taki feel slightly guilty however.

"Good morning, Taki-senpai!" the boy chirped happily. "Great day, huh? The sun is out; it's not hot. I don't know HOW Jirou-senpai can sleep when the day is so beautiful!"

Tsukino himself was quite literally bouncing on the balls of his feet. Funny, Taki had never pegged him for a morning person. It was barely 7.

Abandoning that train of thought, the green haired boy placed his clipboard down and began his own warm ups. It was scarcely ten minutes later when two familiar figures appeared on the edge of the courts.

"What on earth can you two be doing, pray tell, at this unholy hour?" the team captain almost growled as he virtually stomped across the court his hair just a touch more frazzled than normal. Apparently it was a bit too early for 'Ore-sama'.

Of all the things that Atobe Keigo can claim to be, a morning person was definitely NOT one of them. Unfortunately for him, the only free slot for regulars-only practices in Yukimatsuri was early in the morning before classes. As a result, he was grumpier than Hiyoshi during early practices and had a temperament to give even Rikkai's Sanada Genichirou a run for his money. As such the sight of the over-enthusiastic freshman only annoyed him further.

"You!" he barked at Tsukino, "Are you warmed up?"

"Yes sir!" The younger boy chirped.

"5 laps and then swing drills," Atobe commanded, "50 per hand, keep, alternating until the other arrive! Taki, watch the brat while Kabaji and I warm up."

"Hai!" Tsukino piped energetically and began on his laps. Taki sighed and nodded. Looking at the boy, he just hoped that those laps managed to kill off some of that excess energy.

Not 10 minutes later the scowling face of Hiyoshi Wakashi could be seen approaching. Unlike atobe his bad humor had less to do with the early morning and more to do with their newest regular player. When he saw the younger boy's antic, a sporadic twitching developed at the corner of his eye.

"Who the hell gave THAT THING COFFEE?" he growled. "Do you WANT to torture me?"

"I wasn't me!" Taki insisted gesturing to the freshman who was running laps on hyper speed. "It was Jirou if it was anyone! And Atobe says five laps, and then swing drills, go!"

The junior grumbled something unintelligible and began to jog.

Taki watched as Hiyoshi caught up to the young boy and a sort of cat and mouse chase began. Despite what Hiyoshi previously said about his underclassman, his scowl eased a bit as he got one good smack in before the raven haired child pulled away from him. It seems not even the master of gekokujou is immune to his infectious good humor.

The green haired boy sighed as he took a seat next to the snoozing Jirou.

"I wonder if I'm doing the right thing," he mused to himself.

The slight furrowing of Jirou's brows went completely unnoticed.

Allow me to beg forgiveness...I had hoenstly ran out of inspiration for this story until just reccently I re-read some of my stuff (i was honestly on a hetalia streak for the longest time)

Gomen nasai

and yes...i made marui a girl becuase there are like no remotely cannon-like het-pairings in PoT, becuase i wanted to involve Niou, and becuase I love maru-haru...

Yes, Taki is important (gasp!)


	11. Breaking Mirrors

"Alright, put the equipment away, ore-sama declares practice to be over." Atobe huffed with a snap. "Fair job today, but ore-sama will expect better tomorrow."

Save for the few stubborn souls, a majority of the Yukimatsuri tennis club collapsed with a collective groan. Atobe had not been idle today as lap after lap after drill after practice match had been assigned to the club members. The freshman regular, who still practiced his drills with the rest of his classmates save for when he was with the rest of the regulars, was one of those few still on their feet.

Taki watched as the boy let out a breathy laugh and offered a hand to his nearest neighbor. The other freshman grumbled but accepted the hand and let Tsukino pull him to his feet. The raven haired regular went around pulling a few other guys up, always the ones who were not breathing as hard, and ushered them to get water and then slowly begin to collect balls and rackets. A few of them cast sidelong glares at the boy with the cap, but for the most part they followed his lead as if they were quite accustomed to it. They couldn't have all been from Hyoutei. Even If they were, Taki had seldom seen this strange lack of grumbling and whining.

It was quite evident why Ohtori had selected this particular boy to be his successor. In fact it was hard to imagine why he had not been made Buchou.

Tsukino was very like Atobe, Taki thought; he robbed your attention without prejudice and never quite gave it all back. He played the court as if he ruled it. He wielded his strength in a way that even the most resentful of his peers gave him grudging respect. Everyone else was lost to those sparkling eyes and winning smile.

However, he was like Atobe the way Echizen had been like Tezuka: so close, but still so far off.

He was quietly strong, amiably and gently so where his predecessor was forceful. While no one dared question Atobe's leadership, no one _thought_ to question Tsukino's. Atobe ruled as naturally as he breathed. Tsukino ruled as if it were only natural, like breathing. People followed Atobe because it was imperative to do so. People followed Tsukino because it would be absurd _not_ to.

Taki contemplated quietly as he clocked in all of the tennis club members. The freshmen were still running around cleaning up, cheerful now that their strength had returned. Tsukino was among them, chatting, smiling, playfully chiding those who did something wrong or slacked and fixing it promptly. They had never been this efficient back in Hyoutei.

"Taki-senpai," The raven haired boy came to a stop before him. "All the equipment has been put away and accounted for, even the nets. I checked with the 2nd years' Nakamori-senpai."

"Alright," the bolder boy nodded, "You're done then, go ahead and change."

Tsukino nodded and began to walk off. Taki watched after his retreating back before he added. "I'm freer than I normally like to be this afternoon, so I was wondering if you would like to do something."

"Really?" another of those guilt-inducing brilliant smiles dawned on the younger boy's face. For but a moment Taki could almost see a twinge of relief behind the metallic sheen of those polished silver eyes, so different from the hunter's gaze Taki had last witnessed. "Thank you Taki senpai, I would love to come if you want me there."

"Meh? You're going somewhere?" A voice behind them piped eagerly. Two jersey clad arms wound around the neck and shoulders of the smallest regular. Taki mentally groaned. Of all the days that Jirou would choose to wake up on time. Of course he always wanted to go to everything. Jirou missed out on a lot of team outings, being asleep all the time. "Can I come? Can I come? It'll be like our first teammate bonding since practically forever!"

Taki could feel the impending headache. Oh well, Jirou would fall asleep soon enough. He could talk to Tsukino as he took them both home.

-scene change—

It was not often that Taki Haginosuke would lose his cool. He had no intention of doing so now, no matter how incredibly aggravating Jirou got.

You heard him. The thought of how close Taki was to blowing up in the face of cute, adorable, loveable, Akutagawa Jirou was laughable. Yet, it did not change how true the claim was.

For the last hour or so, Jirou had been in one of his rare waking streaks, chattering away like a babbling brook. Even now, while they were on the limo to his home, the blonde had yet to release control of the conversation. Despite Taki's best efforts to steer the topic towards the circumstances of Tsukino's time at Hyoutei, the raven haired boy had barely been able to get a significant word in edgewise.

For his part, the freshman had happily allowed his excitable senpai to dominate the talk and only added his two bits once in a blue moon in reply. Unlike normal people who could only bear so much of Jirou's random ranting, the boy seemed earnestly eager to listen. The scary part is, Taki didn't think he was pretending, which no doubt egged Jirou on.

By the time they dropped Tsukino of at his house, Taki was convinced he and Jirou were made for one another.

It was affirmed by Jirou's sudden lack of energy once the younger boy left. He definitely didn't fall right asleep, but the blonde had leaned back into the plush seat of the limo with a lazy but content smile on his face.

"Chibi-chan is so cute isn't he?" Jirou smiled serenely. Taki let a small grimace over his face.

"You're finally tuckered out, hm?" he asked playfully, careful to hide his less than friendly disposition toward the blonde right now.

"You're silly, Taki," Jirou chuckled granting Taki a few second's view of the tip of his tongue. He yawned. "I was really tired! Tsu-chin seemed to be really happy though so how could I fall asleep and spoil it for him? I have to be a good senpai to my little chibi, don't I? It'd rude to sleep when you're invited out."

Taki felt like hitting his forehead…repeatedly…preferably with something heavy.

-Scene change—

Tsukino was in her room poring over her notes on Seigaku's Kikumaru Eiji as her cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Ne, chibi-chan," a good natured voice greeted her.

"Jirou-senpai?" she asked, "Do I want to know how you got my cell number?"

"Mah, for your sake, probably not. We'll just say I know some people," the boy on the other end of the line laughed. "I needed to tell you something though. It's very important."

"Oh?"

"Reiki-chan," Jirou's voice suddenly deepened, surprising his young kouhai. "Stay the hell away from Taki."

"Wha-why senpai?" the girl wondered, confused and a little shocked. She thought it was good that Taki senpai didn't hate her. She wasn't on the look-out for enemies.

"Because the emperor has set his dog on you. It will not take long for the faithful bloodhound to catch your scent, chibi-chan; be on guard, lest you are ratted out," Jirou warned over the phone. "Trust me Reiki-chan. I know when Atobe begins to move. Taki is his frontline…Stick with me. I'll take you where you'd never been able to go."

"…Jirou-senpai sounds like a delinquent right now," Tsukino teased. She couldn't help it.

"And just for that, you are meeting me Wednesday after practice for some special senpai-kouhai bonding time," the older boy informed her cheerfully.

"You are laughing at me right now…aren't you senpai?" the girl sighed.

"No not quite yet…give me a few seconds"

-Scene Change-

"Ne, Tori-senpai, can you give me five minutes?"

Ohtori Choutarou caught the ball that ricocheted off the green wall. It was individual practice today so everyone got to work on their own separate skills. Since his doubles partner had to be excused on account of a make-up assignment, he had been working on his weaker back-hand for the last ten minutes. "Sure Tsuki-kun, what do you have for me?"

"Senpai, you're depending on your elbow a lot when you back-hand," the younger boy opened to a blank sheet on his handy notebook and drew a rough sketch. Choutarou, who was now used to the quick diagramming but still not much good at reading, waited patiently for him to explain. "See, you're trying to hit it just like you'd hit a fore-hand elbow aligned with shoulder; but that actually isn't efficient. Since the back hand moves across the body, the two forces aren't going in the same direction, so you're really not using much shoulder strength in your shot. You're physically strong enough that it generally doesn't make as much of a difference when playing with normal players…but in a tournament…well every little bit helps, ne?"

"Ah I see," he answered. "I've been told that before, I think. I'm not sure how to fix it though. The coach says pull back, but it feels really awkward when I pull my shoulder back."

"Hm….It's better if we do some hands-on work I think," the freshman pulled on the brim of his cap, adjusting it to keep the sun out of his eyes.

They snagged a court not being used and a good supply of balls.

"Alright senpai, try not to move," the shorter boy called. "I'm going to put it right in front of you, don't worry."

Tsukino began to serve towards Choutarou…in really, really awkward places. It always required a back-hand but it always went for his chest or farther than he'd like. It required him to turn in sloppy half pivots that just frustrated him. Now, let it not be said that it was easy to get Ohtori Choutarou to blow his top, but even his patience was really being tested here. He knew full well that Tsukino has never done anything without a purpose, but that steady confidence as he kept lobbing balls out of his way was annoying in ways he forgot the little boy could be.

Somewhere after the 30th ball he lost it. He planted his feet firmly on the ground twisted his long torso and rotated his broad, powerful shoulders and sent the offending green orb back to its original player with all the sheer raw power of the infamous Scud Server. All anyone could see was a green flash right by his racket before the ball itself was grating so hard against the chain link fence it stuck there, still spinning.

"Tori-senpai," the capped boy whispered. His voice was breathy, almost reverent.

"I did it," Choutarou said, more to confirm it for himself than anything. Joy welled inside his shaky voice as he turned to look at his younger friend. "I did it. I…Tsuki-kun! Your face!"

A red welt had bloomed almost as if in after thought on the fair skin of his opponent's face, like a tiger stripe, streaking under quicksilver eyes that were already lighting up in a euphoric grin. The junior tried to apologize to his little friend, but the boy waved off Choutarou's motherly concerns as he began to babble and bounce excitedly on his heels. It was as if he could not feel the pain.

"Did you see that?" he asked, "Tori-senpai that was…oh wow. I didn't…dang I just thought that if I kept hitting it in the right places…you'd have to turn anyway to reach the shots and eventually you would rotate your body on impulse. I never would have expected…damn I can't begin to…"

"What's going on?" A familiar voice carried into the court. Ohtori Choutarou turned his head to find a freshly changed Shishido Ryou standing just off court with a racket slung over his shoulder. His eyes were staring hard at the ball still lodged in the twisted metal. "Man Choutarou; that was some shot."

A frown creased his brows as he approached the two. "What the hell happened to your face chibi?"

"It's nothing, sheesh, senpai-tachi is so fussy today!" Tsukino huffed. "Shishido-senpai, you SAW that right? That was a backhand! That kind of frightening counter attack was a _backhand_. I am so jealous now! Imagine what that kind of shot could DO to an opponent. Even I was panicking just now, and I know Tori-senpai would never hurt me on purpose."

His smile was borderline delirious now and he was scribbling furiously into the chosen notebook of the day. "We definitely need to do that again sometime so I can record initial and final speed and calculate the apparent weight of your Fi. If you give me time tomorrow so I can film…"

With a sigh, Choutarou plucked the pencil from the slender, delicate finger, planted a large hand firmly on top of the freshman's blue capped head, silenced him with a stern look, and held him still. The other one came up to cup the small pixie-like chin, and pale fingers pressed lightly against the pale skin before the junior gently titled his kouhai's pouting face up to examine the graze mark more carefully. He winced when he noticed it was bleeding. Tsukino was so careless with himself. Sometimes it was cute, but other times it was very worrying.

"That doesn't look good," the silver haired regular declared. "You'll need to get that looked at. I can't believe I did that. I'm so sorry. Come on, we'll head over to Taki-senpai so he can clear you to go to the infirmary."

"Wait, wait, THE INFIRMARY?" the youngest protested incredulously, "It's barely a scratch senpai. I'll just get a band aid or something if you really think it's necessary..."

"No idiot," Shishido interceded with a disapproving grunt. "You're bleeding, and that's a graze mark not a cut. It'll take longer to scab over than you think. That and it was caused by a tennis ball which by now has bounced who-knows-where. At least dab some damn alcohol on."

"Meh, so paranoid, senpai."

There was a flash of pink tongue and the slightest little smirk before the young boy dashed over to where Taki was setting up water for the rest of the club. The silver pair remained speechless staring after the retreating form. After a while, with a theatrical sigh and tired smile back at his partner Choutarou made to go after his young friend. By this time the boy was not 10 yards away from Taki, so Shishido reach out and grabbed his partner's hand.

"Ne, the kid's alright, look," he said grinning, "He's getting fawned over already. Come on, show me what you just did."

After checking that Tsukino was already being ushered in the direction of the main school building by Taki, towel held to his cheek, Choutarou nodded and picked up another ball.

-Scene change-

"Reiki-chan is really too careless," a familiar voice lamented almost mockingly. It stopped Ohtori Choutarou in his tracks. He had thought Jirou-senpai was still back in the club room, and he wasn't aware that the older boy was on a given-name basis with his favorite kouhai. "It's really not cute, ne?"

"You too, really?" the freshman's voice replied. Not many besides Choutarou could detect the little whine underneath the cool tone. It amused the older boy how Tsukino never showed much negative emotion. He always said it was unprofessional. "It was barely a scratch, not even worth mentioning."

Choutarou thought back to the time he walked into Tsukino icing his leg after a bad sprain. As with every time he pictured it, a phantom pain ached in his own calves at the thought of the long white jagged scar running down the younger boy's slender right leg. No doubt it had been one of the unwanted memoirs of his less than ideal origins.

Choutarou knew, from the occasional subconscious mutterings of his young friend and his family's thorough background check, that Tsukino Reiki was a former street rat. Rather he was one of those unregistered street orphans, aptly named red light children, who didn't have so much as a birth certificate to call their own. As competent as the agents they hired were, not even Ohtori Pharmaceuticals were able to find record of little freshman beyond his adoption by the Tsukino family. Reiki himself was less than forthcoming about his past life.

"It's a pity," Jirou sighed tragically. "You're wasting such a pretty little face. It's shallow enough to scab over quickly but your skin was essentially ground off your face; so sad. You'll have to keep using the salve if you don't want any noticeable scarring. You don't want any scars, do you? Isn't that why you hide your leg?"

Choutarou froze. He was certain that he was the only one who knew about that. Tsukino was always so touchy about his scars. Did he really tell Jirou about them, when even Choutarou had to wrestle every little bit of the information younger boy stubbornly held on to? When had they grown so close?

"…Should I even bother to ask how you knew, Jirou-senpai, or do I not wish to know?" Tsukino asked coolly, a little resigned, after a long pause. So he actually hadn't been any more lenient with his past than usual. This still begs the question of how Akutagawa Jirou routed it out at all.

"No, you probably don't. We'll just say I know a few things," Jirou sang back teasingly. "Ne, but you should still tell your precious Tori-senpai to be a little bit more careful. You're not as brutishly strong as he and Shishido are, and I really don't like seeing you all marked up like that."

"What are you talking about? It was my fault for not catching the backhand, not Tori-senpai's," the freshman immediate contested. There was an annoyed edge to his voice as he defended his predecessor. "He was practicing and doing very well, thank you very much. And I am not 'all marked up'! I was just barely nicked a bit. It's nothing to cry to the heavens about even if I _were_ that pathetic."

"He went and hurt you….on your face, by his ball. That's just a bad place to injure someone," the senior insisted. For some reason, in spite of Tsukino's valiant defense on his behalf, Choutarou couldn't help but feel something stab him inside when he heard Jirou's frigid reply. The junior had a very good point."He needs to be more careful with my darling little kouhai."

"Since when did I belong to you?" the younger boy growled darkly from the back of his throat. By then, it sounded like Tsukino had lost the even composure that always masked his frowns and pouts.

"Since I came and he didn't." The junior answered mercilessly.

"He's probably with Shishido-senpai. They go well together," Tsukino pointed out. Choutarou wasn't sure if that was worse than Jirou's cutting words or not. It was true, he did want to spend a lot more time with Shishido-senpai now that it was his last year in high school. He hadn't meant to be so engrossed in it that he would neglect the little boy who shadowed him all through his last year as a middle school student. "And Shishido-senpai is a decent guy. He's a little foul-mouthed sometimes, but he takes care of people, so Tori-senpai is in wonderful hands. And anyway, I'll have him to myself next year, so it's fine."

Taking a risk, he peeked through the crack in the door. Luckily the curtains were partially drawn about the bed Tsukino was currently perched upon. It obscured Choutarou from their view but he could still see part of them and a silhouette. Tsukino was sitting cross-legged on the bed. Jirou, who was seated on the floor, seemed to have folded his arms across the younger boy's lap and was pillowing his head on top of them, glancing up.

"So does that mean you're all mine this year?" The Akutagawa heir wondered aloud? His voice was a lot gentler now, almost unassuming, as if he were talking about a doll. Something heavy dropped to the pit of Choutarou's stomach.

It was no secret to him that Akutagawa Jirou could not possibly be all that meets the eye. He was after all the future owner of one of the largest business conglomerates in Asia. He couldn't be the affable, confused, innocent face he presented to the public, not in their world. Yet, nothing could have prepared the 2nd son of the Ohtori family for the cold, sarcastic, possessive person that was in there now, with his beloved kouhai.

He didn't like this Jirou who acted like the aristocrat he should be. He didn't like this Jirou who claimed Tsukino Reiki as his, and would no doubt influence the freshman in all the wrong ways. He didn't like this Jirou who was willing to twist one of the most innocent things that could be found in his life of excess and cruelty into his own demonic design.

"I don't suppose you will be giving me the choice of refusing your charming company," Tsukino answered with a sigh of resignation. "But I refuse to be your plaything Jirou-senpai. Please do remember that."

Choutarou bit his bottom lip in thought. He then turned and skulked back down the hall silently. There the silver haired young man schooled his face into the gentle smile he knew was characteristic of him and then walked back to the infirmary with deliberate strides, the heels of his school shoes clicking _quite_ audibly on the linoleum floor.


End file.
